m 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 


OR, 


THE  CHASE. 


A-TALE   OF   THE   SEA, 


AUTHOR  OF  "THE  PILOT,"  "THE  SPY,"  ETC, 


"Is  't  not  strange,  Canidius, 
That  from  Tarentum,  and  Brundtisium, 
He  could  so  quickly  cut  the  Ionian  sea, 
And  take  in  Toryne?" 

SHAKSPKAHE, 


IN  TWO   VOLUMES, 
VOL.  I. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
CAREY,   LEA  &   BLANC  HARD. 

1838. 


Entered  according  to  the  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1838, 
by  CABET,  LEA  &  BLANCHAHD,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  Dis 
trict  Court  of  the  United  States,  in  and  for  the  Eastern  District 
of  Pennsylvania. 


. 


PREFACE. 


IN  one  respect,  this  book  is  a  parallel  to  Franklin's 
well-known  apologue  of  the  hatter  and  his  sign.  It 
was  commenced  with  a  sole  view  to  exhibit  the 
present  state  of  society  in  the  United  States,  through 
the  agency,  in  part,  of  a  set  of  characters  with  dif 
ferent  peculiarities,  who  had  freshly  arrived  from 
Europe,  and  to  whom  the  distinctive  features  of  the 
country  would  be  apt  to  present  themselves  with 
greater  force,  than  to  those  who  had  never  lived 
beyond  the  influence  of  the  things  portrayed.  By 
the  original  plan,  the  work  was  to  open  at  the 
threshold  of  the  country,  or  with  the  arrival  of  the 
travellers  at  Sandy  Hook,  from  which  point  the  tale 
was  to  have  been  carried  regularly  forward  to  its 
conclusion.  But  a  consultation  with  others  has  left 
little  more  of  this  plan  than  the  hatter's  friends  left 
of  his  sign.  As  a  vessel  was  introduced  in  the  first 
chapter,  the  cry  was  for  "more  ship,"  until  the  work 
has  become  "all  ship;"  it  actually  closing  at,  or 
near,  the  spot  where  it  was  originally  intended  it 
should  commence.  Owing  to  this  diversion  from 
the  author's  design — a  design  that  lay  at  the  bottom 
of  all  his  projects — a  necessity  has  been  created  of 
running  the  tale  through  two  separate  works,  or  of 


IV  PREFACE. 

making  a  hurried  and  insufficient  conclusion.     The 
former  scheme  has,  consequently,  been  adopted. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  interest  of  the  narrative  will 
not  be  essentially  diminished  by  this  arrangement. 

There  will  be,  very  likely,  certain  imaginative 
persons,  who  will  feel  disposed  to  deny  that  every 
minute  event  mentioned  in  these  volumes  ever  befell 
one  and  the  same  ship,  though  ready  enough  to  admit 
that  they  may  very  well  have  occurred  to  several 
different  ships;  a  mode  of  commenting  that  is  much 
in  favour  with  your  small  critic.  To  this  objection, 
we  shall  make  but  a  single  answer.  The  caviller,  if 
any  there  should  prove  to  be,  is  challenged  to  pro 
duce  the  log-book  of  the  Montauk,  London  packet, 
and  if  it  should  be  found  to  contain  a  single  sentence 
to  controvert  any  one  of  our  statements  or  facts,  a 
frank  recantation  shall  be  made.  Captain  Truck  is 
quite  as  well  known  in  New  York  as  in  London  or 
Portsmouth,  and  to  him  also  we  refer  with  confi 
dence,  for  a  confirmation  of  all  we  have  said,  with 
the  exception,  perhaps,  of  the  little  occasional  touches 
of  character  that  may  allude  directly  to  himself.  In 
relation  to  the  latter,  Mr.  Leach,  and  particularly 
Mr.  Saunders,  are  both  invoked  as  unimpeachable 
witnesses. 

Most  of  our  readers  will  probably  know  that  all 
which  appears  in  a  New  York  journal  is  not  neces 
sarily  as  true  as  the  Gospel.  As  some  slight  devia 
tions  from  the  facts  accidentally  occur,  though  doubt 
less  at  very  long  intervals,  it  should  not  be  surprising 
that  they  sometimes  omit  circumstances  that  are  quite 


PREFACE,  -       V 

as  veracious  as  anything  they  do  actually  utter  to 
the  world.  No  argument,  therefore,  can  justly  be 
urged  against  the  incidents  of  this  story,  on  account 
of  the  circumstance  of  their  not  being  embodied  in 
the  regular  marine  news  of  the  day. 

Another  serious  objection  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri 
can  reader  to  this  work  is  foreseen.  The  author  has 
endeavoured  to  interest  his  readers  in  occurrences 
of  a  date  as  antiquated  as  two  years  can  make  them, 
when  he  is  quite  aware,  that,  in  order  to  keep  pace 
with  a  state  of  society  in  which  there  was  no  yester 
day,  it  would  have  been  much  safer  to  anticipate 
things,  by  laying  his  scene  two  years  in  advance. 
It  is  hoped,  however,  that  the  public  sentiment  will 
not  be  outraged  by  this  glimpse  at  antiquity,  and  this 
the  more  so,  as  the  sequel  of  the  tale  will  bring  down 
events  within  a  year  of  the  present  moment. 

To  commence  with  the  most  important:  the  Mon- 
tauk  herself,  once  deemed  so  "  splendid"  and  conve 
nient,  is  already  supplanted  in  the  public  favour  by  a 
new  ship;  the  reign  of  a  popular  packet,  a  popular 
preacher,  or  a  popular  anything-else,  in  America, 
being  limited  by  a  national  esprit  de  corps,  to  a  time 
materially  shorter  than  that  of  a  lustre.  This,  how 
ever,  is  no  more  than  just;  rotation  in  favour  being 
as  evidently  a  matter  of  constitutional  necessity,  as 
rotation  in  office. 

Captain  Truck,  for  a  novelty,  continues  popular,  a 
circumstance  that  he  himself  ascribes  to  the  fact  of 
his  being  still  a  bachelor. 

Toast  is  promoted,  figuring  at  the  head  of  a  pantry 
1* 


VI  PREFACE. 

quite  equal  to  that  of  his  great  master,  who  regards 
his  improvement  with  some  such  eyes  as  Charles  the 
Twelfth  of  Sweden  regarded  that  of  his  great  rival 
Peter,  after  the  affair  of  Pultowa. 

Mr.  Leach-  now  smokes  his  own  cigar,  and  issues 
his  own  orders  from  a  monkey  rail,  his  place  in  the 
line  being  supplied  by  his  former  "  Dickey."  He 
already  speaks  of  his  great  model,  as  of  one  a  little 
antiquated,  it  is  true,  but  as  a  man  who  had  merit  in 
his  time,  though  it  was  not  the  particular  merit  that 
is  in  fashion  to-day. 

Notwithstanding  these  little  changes,  which  are 
perhaps  inseparable  from  the  events  of  a  period  so 
long  as  two  years  in  a  country  so  energetic  as 
America,  and  in  which  nothing  seems  to  be  station 
ary  but  the  ages  of  Tontine  nominees,  and  three-life 
leases,  a  cordial  esteem  was  created  among  the 
principal  actors  in  the  events  of  this  book,  which  is 
likely  to  outlast  the  passage,  and  which  will  not  fail 
to  bring  most  of  them  together  again  in  the  sequel. 
W 

April,  1838. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND. 


CHAPTER  I. 

An  inner  room  I  have, 

Where  thou  shalt  rest  and  some  refreshment  take, 
And  then  we  will  more  fully  talk  of  this. 

ORRA. 

THE  coast  of  England,  though  infinitely  finer  than 
our  own,  is  more  remarkable  for  its  verdure,  and  for 
a  general  appearance  of  civilisation,  than  for  its  na 
tural  beauties.  The  chalky  cliffs  may  seem  bold  and 
noble  to  the  American,  though  compared  to  the  gra 
nite  piles  that  buttress  the  Mediterranean  they  are 
but  mole-hills ;  and  the  travelled  eye  seeks  beauties 
instead,  in  the  retiring  vales,  the  leafy  hedges,  and 
the  clustering  towns  that  dot  the  teeming  island. 
Neither  is  Portsmouth  a  very  favourable  specimen  of 
a  British  port,  considered  solely  in  reference  to  the 
picturesque.  A  town  situated  on  a  humble  point,  and 
fortified  after  the  manner  of  the  Low  Countries,  with 
an  excellent  haven,  suggests  more  images  of  the  use 
ful  than  of  the  pleasing;  while  a  background  of 
modest  receding  hills  offers  little  beyond  the  verdant 
swales  of  the  country.  In  this  respect  England  itself 
has  the  fresh  beauty  of  youth,  rather  than  the  mel 
lowed  hues  of  a  more  advanced  period  of  life ;  or  it 
might  be  better  to  say,  it  has  the  young  freshness 
and  retiring  sweetness  that  distinguish  her  females, 

VOL.  i.  2 


14  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

as  compared  with  the  warmer  tints  of  Spain  and 
Italy,  and  which,  women  and  landscape  alike,  need 
the  near  view  to  be  appreciated. 

Some  such  thoughts  as  these  passed  through  the 
mind  of  the  traveller  who  stood  on  the  deck  of  the 
packet  Montauk,  resting  an  elbow  on  the  quarter 
deck  rail,  as  he  contemplated  the  view  of  the  coast 
that  stretched  before  him  east  and  west  for  leagues. 
The  manner  in  which  this  gentleman,  whose  temples 
were  sprinkled  with  grey  hairs,  regarded  the  scene, 
denoted  more  of  the  thoughtfulness  of  experience, 
and  of  tastes  improved  by  observation,  than  it  is 
usual  to  meet  amid  the  bustling  and  common-place 
characters  that  compose  the  majority  in  almost 
every  situation  of  life.  The  calmness  of  his  exterior, 
an  air  removed  equally  from  the  admiration  of  the 
novice  and  the  superciliousness  of  the  tyro,  had,  in 
deed,  so  strongly  distinguished  him  from  the  moment 
he  embarked  in  London  to  that  in  which  he  was  now 
seen  in  the  position  mentioned,  that  several  of  the 
seamen  swore  he  was  a  man-of-war's-man  in  dis 
guise.  The  fair-haired,  lovely,  blue-eyed  girl  at  his 
side,  too,  seemed  a  softened  reflection  of  all  his  sen 
timents,  intelligence,  knowledge,  tastes,  and  cultiva 
tion,  united  to  the  artlessness  and  simplicity  that 
became  her  sex  and  years. 

"We  have  seen  nobler  coasts,  Eve,"  said  the  gen 
tleman,  pressing  the  arm  that  leaned  on  his  own; 
«'  but,  after  all,  England  will  always  be  fair  to  Ame 
rican  eyes." 

"  More  particularly  so  if  those  eyes  first  opened  to 
the  light  in  the  eighteenth  century,  father." 

"  You,  at  least,  my  child,  have  been  educated  be 
yond  the  reach  of  national  foibles,  whatever  may 
have  been  my  own  evil  fortune;  and  still,  I  think 
even  you  have  seen  a  great  deal  to  admire  in  this 
country,  as  well  as  in  this  coast." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  15 

Eve  Effingham  glanced  a  moment  towards  the  eye 
of  her  father,  and  perceiving  that  he  spoke  in  play 
fulness,  without  suffering  a  cloud  to  shadow  a  coun 
tenance  that  usually  varied  with  her  emotions,  she 
continued  the  discourse,  which  had,  in  fact,  only 
been  resumed  by  the  remark  first  mentioned. 

"  I  have  been  educated,  as  it  is  termed,  in  so  many 
different  places  and  countries,"  returned  Eve,  smiling, 
"  that  I  sometimes  fancy  I  was  born  a  woman,  like 
my  great  predecessor  and  namesake,  the  mother  of 
Abel.  If  a  congress  of  nations,  in  the  way  of  mas 
ters,  can  make  one  independent  of  prejudice,  I  may 
claim  to  possess  the  advantage.  My  greatest  fear  is, 
that  in  acquiring  liberality,  I  have  acquired  nothing 
else." 

Mr.  Effingham  turned  a  look  of  parental  fondness, 
in  which  parental  pride  was  clearly  mingled,  on  the 
face  of  his  daughter,  and  said  with  his  eyes,  though 
his  tongue  did  not  second  the  expression,  "  This  is  a 
fear,  sweet  one,  that  none  besides  thyself  would  feel." 

"  A  congress  of  nations,  truly  !"  muttered  another 
male  voice  near  the  father  and  daughter.  "You 
have  been  taught  music  in  general,  by  seven  masters 
of  as  many  different  states,  besides  the  touch  of  the 
guitar  by  a  Spaniard;  Greek  by  a  German;  the  liv 
ing  tongues  by  the  European  powers,  and  philosophy 
by  seeing  the  world ;  and  now,  with  a  brain  full  of 
learning,  fingers  full  of  touches,  eyes  full  of  tints, 
and  a  person  full  of  graces,  your  father  is  taking  you 
back  to  America,  to  *  waste  your  sweetness  on  the 
desert  air.' " 

"  Poetically  expressed,  if  not  justly  imagined, 
Cousin  Jack,"  returned  the  laughing  Eve;  "but  you 
have  forgot  to  add,  and  a  heart  full  of  feeling  for  the 
land  of  my  birth." 

"  We  shall  see,  in  the  end." 


16  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  In  the  end,  as  in  the  beginning,  now  and  for  ever 
more." 

"  All  love  is  eternal  in  the  commencement." 

"  Do  you  make  no  allowance  for  the  constancy  of 
woman  1  Think  you  that  a  girl  of  twenty  can  forget 
the  country  of  her  birth,  the  land  of  her  forefathers — 
or,  as  you  call  it  yourself  when  in  a  good  humour, 
the  land  of  liberty  ?" 

"  A  pretty  specimen  you  will  have  of  its  liberty !" 
returned  the  cousin  sarcastically.  "After  having 
passed  a  girlhood  of  wholesome  restraint  in  the 
rational  society  of  Europe,  you  are  about  to  return 
home  to  the  slavery  of  American  female  life,  just  as 
you  are  about  to  be  married !" 

«  Married  !  Mr.  Effingham  ?" 

"  I  suppose  the  catastrophe  will  arrive,  sooner  or 
later;  and  it  is  more  likely  to  occur  to  a  girl  of 
twenty  than  to  a  girl  of  ten." 

"  Mr.  John  Effingham  never  lost  an  argument  for 
the  want  of  a  convenient  fact,  my  love,"  the  father 
observed  by  way  of  bringing  the  brief  discussion  to 
a  close.  "  But  here  are  the  boats  approaching;  let 
us  withdraw  a  little,  and  examine  the  chance-medley 
of  faces  with  which  we  are  to  become  familiar  by 
the  intercourse  of  a  month." 

"  You  will  be  much  more  likely  to  agree  on  a  ver 
dict  of  murder,"  muttered  the  kinsman. 

Mr.  Effingham  led  his  daughter  into  the  hurricane- 
house — or,  as  the  packet-men  quaintly  term  it,  the 
coach-house,  where  they  stood  watching  the  move 
ments  on  the  quarter-deck  for  the  next  half-hour ;  an 
interval  of  which  we  shall  take  advantage  to  touch 
in  a  few  of  the  stronger  lights  of  our  picture,  leav 
ing  the  softer  tints  and  the  shadow's  to  be  discovered 
by  the  manner  in  which  the  artist  "  tells  the  story." 

Edward  and  John  Effingham  were  brothers'  child 
ren  ;  were  born  on  the  same  day ;  had  passionately 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  17 

loved  the  same  woman,  who  had  preferred  the  first- 
named,  and  died  soon  after  Eve  was  born ;  had,  not 
withstanding  this  collision  in  feeling,  remained  sin 
cere  friends,  and  this  the  more  so,  probably,  from  a 
mutual  and  natural  sympathy  in  their  common  loss; 
had  lived  much  together  at  home,  and  travelled 
much  together  abroad,  and  were  now  about  to  re 
turn  in  company  to  the  land  of  their  birth,  after  what 
might  be  termed  an  absence  of  twelve  years;  though 
both  had  visited  America  for  short  periods  in  the  in 
tervals, — John  not  less  than  five  times. 

There  was  a  strong  family  likeness  between  the 
cousins,  their  persons  and  even  features  being  almost 
identical ;  though  it  was  scarcely  possible  for  two 
human  beings  to  leave  more  opposite  impressions  on 
mere  casual  spectators  when  seen  separately.  Both 
were  tail,  of  commanding  presence,  and  handsome; 
while  one  was  winning  in  appearance,  and  the  other, 
if  not  positively  forbidding,  at  least  distant  and  re 
pulsive.  The  noble  outline  efface  in  Edward  Effing- 
ham  had  got  to  be  cold  severity  in  that  of  John ;  his 
aquiline  nose  seeming  to  possess  an  eagle-like  and 
hostile  curvature, — his  compressed  lip,  sarcastic  and 
cold  expression,  and  the  fine  classical  chin,  a  feature 
in  which  so  many  of  the  Saxon  race  fail,  a  haughty 
scorn  that  caused  strangers  usually  to  avoid  him. 
Eve  drew  with  great,  facility  and  truth,  and  she  had 
an  eye,  as  her  cousin  had  rightly  said,  "  full  of  tints." 
Often  and  often  had  she  sketched  both  of  these  loved 
faces,  and  never  without  wondering  wherein  that 
strong  difference  existed  in  nature  which  she  had 
never  been  able  to  impart  to  her  drawings.  The  truth 
is,  that  the  subtle  character  of  John  Effingham's  face 
would  rhave  puzzled  the  skill  of  one  who  had  made 
the  art  his  study  for  a  life,  and  it  utterly  set  the  grace 
ful  but  scarcely  profound  knowledge  of  the  beautiful 
young  painter  at  defiance.  All  the  points  of  charac 

2* 

*% 


IS  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

ter  that  rendered  her  father  so  amiable  and  so  winning, 
and  which  were  rather  felt  than  perceived,  in  his 
cousin  were  salient  and  bold,  and,  if  it  may  be  thus 
expressed,  had  become  indurated  by  mental  suffering 
and  disappointment. 

The  cousins  were  both  rich,  though  in  ways  as 
opposite  as  their  dispositions  and  habits  of  thought. 
Edward  Effingham  possessed  a  large  hereditary  pro 
perty,  that  brought  a  good  income,  and  which  at 
tached  him  to  this  world  of  ours  by  kindly  feelings 
towards  its  land  and  waters;  while  John,  much  the 
wealthier  of  the  two,  having  inherited  a  large  com 
mercial  fortune,  did  not  own  ground  enough  to  bury 
him.  As  he  sometimes  deridingly  said,  he  "  kept  his 
gold  in  corporations,  that  were  as  soulless  as  him 
self." 

Still,  John  Effingham  was  a  man  of  cultivated 
mind,  of  extensive  intercourse  with  the  world,  and 
of  manners  that  varied  with  the  occasion ;  or  per 
haps  it  were  better  to  say,  with  his  humours.  In  all 
these  particulars  but  the  latter  the  cousins  were 
alike;  Edward  Effingham's  deportment  being  as 
equal  as  his  temper,  though  also  distinguished  for  a 
knowledge  of  society. 

These  gentlemen  had  embarked  at  London,  on 
their  fiftieth  birthday,  in  the  packet  of  the  1st  of  Oc 
tober,  bound  to  New  York;  the  lands  and  family 
residence  of  the  proprietor  lying  in  the  state  of  that 
name,  of  which  all  of  the  parties  were  natives.  It  is 
not  usual  for  the  cabin  passengers  of  the  London 
packets  to  embark  in  the  docks ;  but  Mr.  Effingham, 
— as  we  shall  call  the  father  in  general,  to  distinguish 
him  from  the  bachelor,  John, — as  an  old  and  expe 
rienced  traveller,  had  determined  to  make  his  daugh 
ter  familiar  with  the  peculiar  odours  of  the  vessel  in 
smooth  water,  as  a  protection  against  sea-sickness; 
a  malady,  however,  from  which  she  proved  to  be 


:i  sne  pro\ 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  19 

singularly  exempt  in  the  end.  They  had,  according 
ly,  been  on  board  three  days,  when  the  ship  came  to 
an  anchor  off  Portsmouth,  the  point  where  the  re 
mainder  of  the  passengers  were  to  join  her  on  that 
particular  day  when  the  scene  of  this  tale  com 
mences. 

At  this  precise  moment,  then,  the  Montauk  was 
lying  at  a  single  anchor,  not  less  than  a  league  from 
the  land,  in  a  flat  calm,  with  her  three  topsails  loose, 
the  courses  in  the  brails,  and  with  all  those  signs  of 
preparation  about  her  that  are  so  bewildering  to 
landsmen,  but  which  seamen  comprehend  as  clearly 
as  words.  The  captain  had  no  other  business  there 
than  to  take  on  board  the  wayfarers,  and  to  renew 
his  supply  of  fresh  meat  and  vegetables ;  things  of 
so  familiar  import  on  shore  as  to  be  seldom  thought 
of  until  missed,  but  which  swell  into  importance 
during  a  passage  of  a  month's  duration.  Eve  had 
employed  her  three  days  of  probation  quite  usefully, 
having,  with  the  exception  of  the  two  gentlemen,  the 
officers  of  the  vessel,  and  one  other  person,  been  in 
quiet  possession  of  all  the  ample,  not  to  say  luxurious 
cabins.  It  is  true,  she  had  a  female  attendant;  but 
to  her  she  had  been  accustomed  from  childhood,  and 
Nanny  Sidley,  as  her  quondam  nurse  and  actual 
ladyVmaid  was  termed,  appeared  so  much  a  part  of 
herself,  that,  while  her  absence  would  be  missed 
almost  as  greatly  as  that  of  a  limb,  her  presence  was 
as  much  a  matter  of  course  as  a  hand  or  foot.  Nor 
will  a  passing  word  concerning  this  excellent  and 
faithful  domestic  be  thrown  away,  in  the  brief  pre 
liminary  explanations  we  are  making. 

Ann  Sidley  was  one  of  those  excellent  creatures 
who,  it  is  the  custom  with  the  European  travellers  to 
say,  do  not  exist  at  all  in  America,  and  who,  while 
they  are  certainly  less  numerous  than  could  be  wish 
ed,  have  no  superiors  in  the  word,  in  their  way.  She 


20  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

had  been  born  a  servant,  lived  a  servant,  and  was 
quite  content  to  die  a  servant, — and  this,  too,  in  one 
and  the  same  family.  We  shall  not  enter  into  a  phi 
losophical  examination  of  the  reasons  that  had  in 
duced  old  Ann  to  feel  certain  she  was  in  the  precise 
situation  to  render  her  more  happy  than  any  other 
that  to  her  was  attainable ;  but  feel  it  she  did,  as  John 
Effingham  used  to  express  it,  "  from  the  crown  of  her 
head  to  the  sole  of  her  foot."  She  had  passed  through 
infancy,  childhood,  girlhood,  up  to  womanhood,  part 
pctssu,  with  the  mother  of  Eve,  having  been  the 
daughter  of  a  gardener,  who  died  in  the  service  of 
the  family,  and  had  heart  enough  to  feel  that  the 
mixed  relations  of  civilised  society,  when  properly 
understood  and  appreciated,  are  more  pregnant  of 
happiness  than  the  vulgar  scramble  and  heart-burn 
ings,  that,  in  the  melee  of  a  migrating  and  unsettled 
population,  are  so  injurious  to  the  grace  and  princi 
ples  of  American  life.  At  the  death  of  Eve's  mo 
ther,  she  had  transferred  her  affections  to  the  child  ; 
and  twenty  years  of  assiduity  and  care  had  brought 
her  to  feel  as  much  tenderness  for  her  lovely  young 
charge  as  if  she  had  been  her  natural  parent.  But 
Nanny  Sidley  was  better  fitted  to  care  for  the  body 
than  the  mind  of  Eve ;  and  when,  at  the  age  often,  the 
latter  was  placed  under  the  control  of  an  accomplish 
ed  governess,  the  good  woman  had  meekly  and  quietly 
sunk  the  duties  of  the  nurse  in  those  of  the  maid. 

One  of  the  severest  trials — or  "  crosses,"  as  she 
herself  termed  it — that  poor  Nanny  had  ever  expe-' 
rienced,  was  endured  when  Eve  began  to  speak  in  a 
language  she  could  not  herself  comprehend  ;  for,  in 
despite  of  the  best  intentions  in  the  world,  and  twelve 
years  of  use,  the  good  woman  could  never  make  any 
thing  of  the  foreign  tongues  ]%er  young  charge  was 
so  rapidly  acquiring.  One  day,  when  Eve  had  been 
maintaining  an  animated  and  laughing  discourse  in 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  21 

Italian  with  her  instructress,  Nanny,  unable  to  com 
mand  herself,  had  actually  caught  the  child  to  her 
bosom,  and,  bursting  into  tears,  implored  her  not  to 
estrange  herself  entirely  from  her  poor  old  nurse. 
The  caresses  arid  solicitations  of  Eve  soon  brought 
the  good  woman  to  a  sense  of  her  weakness ;  but  the 
natural  feeling  was  so  strong,  that  it  required  years 
of  close  observation  to  reconcile  her  to  the  thousand 
excellent  qualities  of  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  the  lady 
to  whose  superintendence  the  education  of  Miss 
Effingham  had  been  finally  confided. 

This  Mademoiselle  Viefville  was  also  among  the 
passengers,  and  was  the  one  other  person  who  now 
occupied  the  cabins  in  common  with  Eve  and  her 
friends.  She  was  the  daughter  of  a  French  officer 
who  had  fallen  in  Napoleon's  campaigns,  had 
been  educated  at  one  of  those  admirable  establish 
ments  which  form  points  of  relief  in  the  ruthless  his 
tory  of  the  conqueror,  and  had  now  lived  long  enough 
to  have  educated  two  young  persons,  the  last  of 
whom  was  Eve  Effingham.  Twelve  years  of  close 
communion  with  her  eleve  had  created  sufficient  at 
tachment  to  cause  her  to  yield  to  the  solicitations  of 
the  father  to  accompany  his  daughter  to  America, 
and  to  continue  with  her  during  the  first  year  of  her 
probation,  in  a  state  of  society  that  the  latter  felt 
must  be  altogether  novel  to  a  young  woman  educated 
as  his  own  child  had  been. 

So  much  has  been  written  and  said  of  French 
governesses,  that  we  shall  not  anticipate  the  subject, 
but  leave  this  lady  to  speak  and  act  for  herself  in  the 
course  of  the  narrative.  Neither  is  it  our  intention 
to  be  very  minute  in  these  introductory  remarks  con 
cerning  any  of  our  characters;  but  having  thus 
traced  their  outlines,  we  shall  return  again  to  the  in 
cidents  as  they  occurred,  trusting  to  make  the  reader 
better  acquainted  with  all  the  parties  as  we  proceed. 


• 


22  ^  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 


CHAPTER  II. 

Lord  Cram  and  Lord  Vultur, 
Sir  Brandish  O'Cultur, 
With  Marshal  Carouzer, 
And  old  Lady  Mouser. 

Bath  Guide. 

THE  assembling  of  the  passengers  of  a  packet-ship 
is  at  all  times  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  parties  con 
cerned.  During  the  western  passage  in  particular, 
which  can  never  safely  be  set  down  at  less  than  a 
month,  there  is  the  prospect  of  being  shut  up  for  the 
whole  of  that  period,  within  the  narrow  compass  of 
a  ship,  with  those  whom  chance  has  brought  together, 
influenced  by  all  the  accidents  and  caprices  of  per 
sonal  character,  and  a  difference  of  nations,  condi 
tions  in  life,  and  education.  The  quarter-deck,  it  is 
true,  forms  a  sort  of  local  distinction,  and  the  poor 
creatures  in  the  steerage  seem  the  rejected  of  Provi 
dence  for  the  time  being;  but  all  who  know  life  will 
readily  comprehend  that  the  pele-mele  of  the  cabins 
can  seldom  offer  anything  very  enticing  to  people  of 
refinement  and  taste.  To  this,  however,  there  is  one 
particular  source  of  relief;  most  persons  feeling  a 
disposition  to  yield  to  the  circumstances  in  which 
they  are  placed,  with  the  laudable  and  convenient 
desire  to  render  others  comfortable,  in  order  that  they 
may  be  made  comfortable  themselves. 

A  man  of  the  world  and  a  gentleman,  Mr.  Effing- 
ham  had  looked  forward  to  this  passage  with  a  good 
deal  of  concern,  on  account  of  his  daughter,  while  he 
shrank  with  the  sensitiveness  of  his  habits  from  the 
necessity  of  exposing  one  of  her  delicacy  and  plastic 
simplicity  to  the  intercourse  of  a  ship.  Accompanied 


HOMEWARD    BOUxYD.  23 

by  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  watched  over  by  Nanny, 
and  guarded  by  himself  and  his  kinsman,  he  had  lost 
some  of  his  apprehensions  on  the  subject  during  the 
three  probationary  days,  and  now  took  his  stand  in 
the  centre  of  his  own  party  to  observe  the  new  arri 
vals,  with  something  of  the  security  of  a  man  who  is 
entrenched  in  his  own  door-way. 

The  place  they  occupied,  at  a  window  of  the  hurri 
cane-house,  did  not  admit  of  a  view  of  the  water; 
but  it  was  sufficiently  evident  from  the  preparations 
in  the  gangway  next  the  land,  that  boats  were  so 
near  as  to  render  that  unnecessary. 

"  Genus,  cockney;  species,  bag-man,"  muttered 
John  Effingham,  as  the  first  arrival  touched  the  deck. 
"  That  worthy  has  merely  exchanged  the  basket  of  a 
coach  for  the  deck  of  a  packet;  we  may  now  learn 
the  price  of  buttons." 

It  did  not  require  a  naturalist  to  detect  the  species 
of  the  stranger,  in  truth ;  though  John  Effingham  had 
been  a  little  more  minute  in  his  description  than  was 
warranted  by  the  fact.  The  person  in  question  was 
one  of  those  mercantile  agents  that  England  scatters 
so  profusely  over  the  world,  some  of  whom  have  all 
the  most  sterling  qualities  of  their  nation,  though  a 
majority,  perhaps,  are  a  little  disposed  to  mistake  the 
value  of  other  people  as  well  as  their  own.  This  was 
the  genus,  as  John  Effingham  had  expressed  it;  but 
the  species  will  best  appear  on  dissection.  The  mas 
ter  of  the  ship  saluted  this  person  cordially,  and  as  an 
old  acquaintance,  by  the  name  of  Monday. 

"  A  mousquetaire  resuscitated,"  said  Mademoiselle 
Viefville,  in  her  broken  English,  as  one  who  had 
come  in  the  same  boat  as  the  first-named,  thrust  his 
whiskered  and  mustachoed  visage  above  the  rail  of 
the  gangway. 

"  More  probably  a  barber,  who  has  converted  his 


24  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

own  head  into  a  wig-block,"  growled  John  Effing- 
ham. 

"It  cannot,  surely,  be  Wellington  in  disguise!" 
added  Mr.  Effingham,  with  a  sarcasm  of  manner  that 
was  quite  unusual  for  him. 

"  Or  a  peer  of  the  realm  in  his  robes  !"  whispered 
Eve,  who  was  much  amused  with  the  elaborate  toilet 
of  the  subject  of  their  remarks,  who  descended  the 
ladder  supported  by  a  sailor,  and,  after  speaking  to 
the  master,  was  formally  presented  to  his  late  boat- 
companion,  as  Sir  George  Templemore.  The  two 
bustled  together  about  the  quarter-deck  for  a  few  mi 
nutes,  using  eye-glasses,  which  led  them  into  several 
scrapes,  by  causing  them  to  hit  their  legs  against 
sundry  objects  they  might  otherwise  have  avoided, 
though  both  were  much  too  high-bred  to  betray  feel 
ings — or  fancied  they  were,  which  answered  the  same 
purpose. 

After  these  flourishes,  the  new  comers  descended 
to  the  cabin  in  company,  not  without  pausing  to  sur 
vey  the  party  in  the  hurricane-house,  more  especially 
Eve,  who,  to  old  Ann's  great  scandal,  was  the  subject 
of  their  manifest  and  almost  avowed  admiration  and 
observation. 

"  One  is  rather  glad  to  have  such  a  relief  against 
the  tediousness  of  a  sea-passage,"  said  Sir  George  as 
they  went  down  the  ladder.  "No  doubt  you  are 
used  to  this  sort  of  thing,  Mr.  Monday;  .but  with  me, 
it  is  voyage  the  first, — that  is,  if  I  except  the  Channel 
and  the  seas  one  encounters  in  making  the  usual  run 
on  the  Continent." 

"  Oh,  dear  me !  I  go  and  come  as  regularly  as  the 
equinoxes,  Sir  George,  which  you  know  is  quite,  in 
rule,  once  a  year.  I  call  my  passages  the  equinoxes, 
too,  for  1  religiously  make  it  a  practice  to  pass  just 
twelve  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four  in  my  berth." 

This  was  the  last  the  party  on  deck  heard  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  25 

opinions  of  the  two  worthies,  for  the  time  being;  nor 
would  they  have  been  favoured  with  all  this,  had  not 
Mr.  Monday  Avhat  he  thought  a  rattling  way  with 
him,  which  caused  him  usually  to  speak  in  an  octave 
above  every  one  else.  Although  their  voices  were 
nearly  rnute,  or  rather  lost  to  those  above,  they  were 
heard  knocking  about  in  their  state-rooms ;  and  Sir 
George,  in  particular,  as  frequently  called  out  for  the 
steward,  by  the  name  of  "  Saunders,"  as  Mr.  Mon 
day  made  similar  appeals  to  the  steward's  assist 
ant  for  succour,  by  the  appropriate  appellation  of 
"  Toast." 

"  I  think  we  may  safely  claim  this  person,  at  least, 
for  a  countryman,"  said  John  Effingham :  "  he  is 
what  I  have  heard  termed  an  American  in  a  Euro 
pean  mask." 

"  The  character  is  more  ambitiously  conceived 
than  skilfully  maintained,"  replied  Eve,  who  had  need 
of  all  her  retenue  of  manner  to  abstain  from  laughing 
outright.  "  Were  I  to  hazard  a  conjecture,  it  would 
be  to  describe  the  gentleman  as  a  collector  of  cos 
tumes,  who  had  taken  a  fancy  to  exhibit  an  assort 
ment  of  his  riches  on  his  own  person.  Mademoiselle 
Viefville,  you,  who  so  well  understand  costumes,  may 
tell  us  from  what  countries  the  separate  parts  of  that 
attire  have  been  collected?" 

"  I  can  answer  for  the  shop  in  Berlin  where  the 
travelling  cap  was  purchased,"  returned  the  amused 
governess ;  "  in  no  other  part  of  the  world  can  a  pa 
rallel  be  found." 

"  I  should  think,  ma'am,"  put  in  Nanny,  with  the 
quiet  simplicity  of  her  nature  as  well  as  of  her  habits, 
"  that  the  gentleman  must  have  bought  his  boots  in 
Paris,  for  they  seem  to  pinch  his  feet,  and  all  the 
Paris  boots  and  shoes  pinch  one's  feet, — at  least,  all 
mine  did." 

VOL.  i.  3 


26  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"The  watch-guard  is  stamped  'Geneva,'"  con 
tinued  Eve. 

"  The  coat  comes  from  Frankfort :  tfest  une  Equi 
voque" 

"  And  the  pipe  from  Dresden,  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville." 

"  The  concliTglia  savours  of  Rome,  and  the  little 
chain  annexed  bespeaks  the  Rialto ;  while  the  mou 
staches  are  anything  but  indigenes,  and  the  tout  ensem 
ble  the  world  :  the  man  is  travelled,  at  least." 

Eve's  eyes  sparkled  with  humour  as  she  said  this : 
while  the  new  passenger,  who  had  been  addressed  as 
Mr.  Dodge,  and  an  old  acquaintance  also,  by  the  cap 
tain,  came  so  near  them  as  to  admit  of  no  further 
comments.  A  short  conversation  between  the  two 
soon  let  the  listeners  into  the  secret  that  the  traveller 
had  come  from  America  in  the  spring,  whither,  after 
having  made  the  tour  of  Europe,  he  was  about  to  re 
turn  in  the  autumn. 

"Seen  enough,  ha!"  added  the  captain,  with  a 
friendly  nod  of  the  head,  when  the  other  had  finished 
a  brief  summary  of  his  proceedings  in  the  eastern 
hemisphere.  "  All  eyes,  and  no  leisure  or  inclination 
for  more  ?" 

"  I  've  seen  as  much  as  \warnt  to  see,"  returned 
the  traveller,  with  an  emphasis  on,  and  a  pronuncia 
tion  oft  the  word  we  have  Italicised,  that  cannot  be 
committed  to  paper,  but  which  were  eloquence  itself 
on  the  subject  of  self-satisfaction  and  self-know 
ledge. 

"  Well,  that  is  the  main  point.  When  a  man  has 
got  all  he  wants  of  a  thing,  any  addition  is  like  over- 
ballast.  Whenever  I  can  get  fifteen  knots  out  of  the 
shi.p,  I  make  it  a  point  to  be  satisfied,  especially  under 
close-reefed  topsails  and  on  a  taut  bow-line." 

The  traveller  and  the  master  nodded  their  heads  at 
each  other,  like  men  who  understood  more  than  they 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  27 

expressed ;  when  the  former,  after  inquiring  with 
marked  interest  if  his  room-mate,  Sir  George  Temple- 
more,  had  arrived,  went  below.  An  intercourse  of 
three  days  had  established  something  like  an  ac 
quaintance  between  the  latter  and  the  passengers 
she  had  brought  from  the  River,  and  turning  his  red 
quizzical  face  towards  the  ladies,  he  observed  with 
inimitable  gravity, 

"  There  is  nothing  like  understanding  when  one 
has  enough,  even  if  it  be  of  knowledge.  I  never  yet 
met  with  the  navigator  who  found  two  «  noons'  in  the 
same  day,  that  he  was  not  in  danger  of  shipwreck. 
Now  I  dare  say,  Mr.  Dodge  there,  who  has  just  gone 
below,  has,  as  he  says,  seen  all  he  warnts  to  see,  and 
it  is  quite  likely  he  knows  more  already  than  he  can 
cleverly  get  along  with. — Let  the  people  be  getting 
the  booms  on  the  yards,  Mr.  Leach;  we  shall  be 
warnting  to  spread  our  wings  before  the  end  of  the 
passage/* 

As  Captain  Truck,  though  he  often  swore,  seldom 
laughed,  his  mate  gave  the  necessary  order  with  a 
gravity  equal  to  that  writh  which  it  had  been  delivered 
to  him;  and  even  the  sailors  went  aloft  to  execute  it 
with  greater  alacrity  for  an  indulgence  of  humour 
that  was  peculiar  to  their  trade,  and  which,  as  few 
understood  it  so  well,  none  enjoyed  so  much  as  them 
selves.  As  the  homeward-bound  crew  was  the  same 
as  the  outward-bound,  and  Mr.  Dodge  had  come 
abroad  quite  as  green  as  he  was  now  going  home 
ripe,  this  traveller  of  six  months'  finish  did  not  escape 
divers  commentaries  that  literally  cut  him  up  "from 
clew  to  ear-ring,"  and  which  flew  about  in  the  rig 
ging  much  as  active  birds  flutter  from  branch  to 
branch  in  a  tree.  The  subject  of  all  this  wit,  how 
ever,  remained  profoundly,  not  to  say  happily,  igno 
rant  of  the  sensation  he  had  produced,  being  occupied 
in  disposing  of  the  Dresden  pipe,  the  Venetian  chain, 


28  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

and  the  Roman  conchiglia  in  his  state-room,  and  in 
"  instituting  an  acquaintance,"  as  he  expressed  it,  with 
his  room-mate,  Sir  George  Templemore. 

"  We  must  surely  have  something  better  than  this," 
observed  Mr.  Effingham,  "  for  I  observed  that  two 
of  the  state-rooms  in  the  main  cabin  are  taken 
singly." 

In  order  that  the  general  reader  may  understand 
this,  it  may  be  well  to  explain  that  the  packet-ships 
have  usually  two  berths  in  each  state-room,  but  they 
who  can  afford  to  pay  an  extra  charge  are  permitted 
to  occupy  the  little  apartment  singly.  It  is  scarcely 
necessary  to  add,  that  persons  of  gentlemanly  feel 
ing,  when  circumstances  will  at  all  permit,  prefer 
economising  in  other  things  in  order  to  live  by  them 
selves  for  the  month  usually  consumed  in  the  passage, 
since  in  nothing  is  refinement  more  plainly  exhibited 
than  in  the  reserve  of  personal  habits. 

"  There  is  no  lack  of  vulgar  fools  stirring  with  full 
pockets,"  rejoined  John  Effingham;  "  the  two  rooms 
you  mention  may  have  been  taken  by  some  *  yearling' 
travellers,  who  are  little  better  than  the  semi-annual 
savant  who  has  just  passed  us." 

"  It  is  at  least  something,  Cousin  Jack,  to  have  the 
wishes  of  a  gentleman." 

"  It  is  something.  Eve,  though  it  end  in  wishes,  or 
even  in  caricature." 

"  What  are  the  names  ?"  pleasantly  asked  Made 
moiselle  Viefville ;  "  the  names  may  be  a  clue  to  the 
characters." 

"  The  papers  pinned  to  the  bed-curtains  bear  the 
antithetical  titles  of  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt;  though 
it  is  quite  probable  the  first  is  wanting  of  a  letter  or 
two  by  accident,  and  the  last  is  merely  a  synonyme 
of  the  old  nom  de  guerre  '  Cash.' " 

"  Do  persons,  then,  actually  travel  with  borrowed 
names,  in  our  days?"  asked  Eve,  with  a  little  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  29 

curiosity  of  the  common  mother  whose  name  she 
bore. 

"That  do  they,  and  with  borrowed  money  too,  as 
well  as  in  other  days.  I  dare  say,  however,  these 
two  co-voyagers  of  ours  will  come  just  as  they  are,  in 
truth,  Sharp  enough,  and  Blunt  enough." 

"  Are  they  Americans,  think  you?" 

"  They  ought  to  be ;  both  the  qualities  being 
thoroughly  indigenes,  as  Mademoiselle  Viefville  would 
say."  ' 

"Nay,  Cousin  John,  I  will  bandy  words  with  you 
no  longer  :  for  the  last  twelve  months  you  have  done 
little  else  than  try  to  lessen  the  joyful  anticipations 
with  which  I  return  to  the  home  of  my  childhood." 

"  Sweet  one,  I  would  not  willingly  lessen  one  of  thy 
young  and  generous  pleasures  by  any  of  the  alloy  of 
rny  own  bitterness;  but  what  wilt  thou?  A  Tittle 
preparation  for  that  which  is  as  certain  to  follow  as 
that  the  sun  succeeds  the  dawn,  will  rather  soften  the 
disappointment  thou  art  doomed  to  feel." 

Eve  had  only  time  to  cast  a  look  of  affectionate 
gratitude  towards  him, — for  while  he  spoke  taunt 
ingly,  he  spoke  with  a  feeling  that  her  experience 
from  childhood  had  taught  her  to  appreciate, — ere  the 
arrival  of  another  boat  drew  the  common  attention  to 
the  gangway.  A  call  from  the  officer  in  attendance 
had  brought  the  captain  to  the  rail;  and  his  order 
"  to  pass  in  the  luggage  of  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt/' 
was  heard  by  all  near. 

"Now  for  les  indigenes"  whispered  Mademoiselle 
Viefville,  with  the  nervous  excitement  that  is  a  little 
apt  to  betray  a  lively  expectation  in  the  gentler  sex. 

Eve  smiled,  for  there  are  situations  in  which  trifles 
help  to  awaken  interest,  and  the  little  that  had  just 
passed  served  to  excite  curiosity  in  the  whole  party. 
Mr.  Effingham  thought  it  a  favourable  symptom  that 
the  master,  who  had  had  interviews  with  all  his  pas- 
3* 


30  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

sengers  in  London,  walked  to  the  gangway  to  receive 
the  new-comers;  for  a  boat-load  of  the  quarter-deck 
oi  polloi  had  come  on  board  a  moment  before  without 
any  other  notice  on  his  part  than  a  general  bow,  with 
the  usual  order  to  receive  their  effects. 

"  The  delay  denotes  Englishmen,"  the  caustic 
John  had  time  to  throw  in,  before  the  silent  arrange 
ment  at  the  gangway  was  interrupted  by  the  appear 
ance  of  the  passengers. 

The  quiet  smile  of  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  as  the 
two  travellers  appeared  on  deck,  denoted  approba 
tion,  for  her  practised  eye  detected  at  a  glance,  that 
they  were  certainly  both  gentlemen.  Women  are 
more  purely  creatures  of  convention  in  their  way 
than  men,  their  education  inculcating  nicer  distinc 
tions  and  discriminations  than  that  of  the  other  sex; 
and  Eve,  who  would  have  studied  Sir  George  Tem- 
plemore  and  Mr.  Dodge  as  she  would  have  studied 
the  animals  of  a  caravan,  or  as  creatures  with  whom 
she  had  no  affinities,  after  casting  a  sly  look  of  curi 
osity  at  the  two  who  now  appeared  on  deck,  uncon 
sciously  averted  her  eyes  like  a  well-bred  young  per 
son  in  a  drawing-room. 

"  They  are  indeed  English,"  quietly  remarked  Mr. 
Effingham;  "but,  out  of  question,  English  gentle 
men." 

"  The  one  nearest  appears  to  me  to  be  Continen 
tal,"  answered  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  who  had  not 
felt  the  same  impulse  to  avert  her  look  as  Eve ;  "  he 
isjamais  Anglais!" 

Eve  stole  a  glance,  in  spite  of  herself,  and,  with 
the  intuitive  penetration  of  a  woman,  intimated  that 
she  had  come  to  the  same  conclusion.  The  two  stran 
gers  were  both  tall,  and  decidedly  gentleman-like 
young  men,  whose  personal  appearance  would  cause 
either  to  be  remarked.  The  one  whom  the  captain 
addressed  as  Mr.  Sharp  had  the  most  youthful  look, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  31 

his  complexion  being  florid,  and  his  hair  light ;  though 
the  other  was  altogether  superior  in  outline  of  fea 
tures  as  well  as  in  expression:  indeed,  Mademoiselle 
Viefville  fancied  she  never  saw  a  sweeter  smile  than 
that  he  gave  on  returning  the  salute  of  the  deck; 
there  \vas  more  than  the  common  expression  of  sua 
vity  and  of  the  usual  play  of  features  in  it,  for  it  struck 
her  as  being  thoughtful  and  as  almost  melancholy. 
His  companion  was  gracious  in  his  manner,  and  per 
fectly  well  toned;  but  his  demeanour  had  less  of  the 
soul  of  the  man  about  it,  partaking  more  of  the  train 
ing  of  the  social  caste  to  which  he  belonged.  These 
may  seem  to  be  nice  distinctions  for  the  circumstan 
ces  ;  but  Mademoiselle  Viefville  had  passed  her  life 
in  good  company,  and  under  responsibilities  that  had 
rendered  observation  and  judgment  highly  necessary, 
and  particularly  observations  of  the  other  sex. 

Each  of  the  strangers  had  a  servant;  and  while 
their  luggage  was  [passed  up  from  the  boat,  they 
walked  aft  nearer  to  the  hurricane-house,  accompa 
nied  by  the  captain.  Every  American,  who  is  not 
very  familiar  with  the  world,  appears  to  possess  the 
mania  of  introducing.  Captain  Truck  was  no  excep 
tion  to  the  rule ;  for,  while  he  was  perfectly  acquaint 
ed  with  a  ship,  and  knew  the  etiquette  of  the  quarter 
deck  to  a  hair,  he  got  into  blue  water  the  moment  he 
approached  the  finesse  of  deportment.  He  was  ex 
actly  of  that  school  of  elegants  who  fancy  drinking  a 
glass  of  wine  with  another,  and  introducing,  are 
touches  of  breeding ;  it  being  altogether  beyond  his 
comprehension  that  both  have  especial  uses,  and 
are  only  to  be  resorted  to  on  especial  occasions.  Still, 
the  worthy  master,  who  had  begun  life  on  the  fore 
castle,  without  any  previous  knowledge  of  usages,  and 
who  had  imbibed  the  notion  that  "  manners  make  the 
man,"  taken  in  the  narrow  sense  of  the  axiom,  was 
a  devotee  of  what  he  fancied  to  be  good  breeding, 


32  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

and  one  of  his  especial  duties,  as  he  imagined,  in  or 
der  to  put  his  passengers  at  their  ease,  was  to  intro 
duce  them  to  each  other;  a  proceeding  which,  it  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say,  had  just  a  contrary  effect 
with  the  better  class  of  them. 

"You  are  acquainted,  gentlemen?"  he  said,  as  the 
three  approached  the  party  in  the  hurricane-house. 

The  two  travellers  endeavoured  to  look  interested, 
while  Mr.  Sharp  carelessly  observed  that  they  had 
met  for  the  first  time  in  the  boat.  This  was  delight 
ful  intelligence,  to  Captain  Truck,  who  did  not  lose  a 
moment  in  turning  it  to  account.  Stopping  short,  he 
faced  his  companions,  and,  with  a  solemn  wave  of 
the  hand,  he  went  through  the  ceremonial  in  which 
he  most  delighted,  and  in  which  he  picqued  himself 
at  being  an  adept. 

"  Mr.  Sharp,  permit  me  to  introduce  you  to  Mr. 
Blunt ; — Mr.  Blunt,  let  me  make  you  acquainted  with 
Mr.  Sharp." 

The  gentlemen,  though  taken  a  little  by  surprise  at 
the  dignity  and  formality  of  the  captain,  touched  their 
hats  civilly  to  each  other,  and  smiled.  Eve,  not  a 
little  amused  at  the  scene,  watched  the  whole  proce 
dure  ;  and  then  she  too  detected  the  sweet  melan 
choly  of  the  one  expression,  and  the  marble-like  irony 
of  Jhe  other.  It  may  have  been  this  that,  caused  her 
to  start,  though  almost  imperceptibly,  and  to  colour. 

"  Our  turn  will  come  next,"  muttered  John  Effing- 
ham  :  "  get  the  grimaces  ready." 

His  conjecture  was  right;  for,  hearing  his  voice 
without  understanding  the  words,  the  captain  follow 
ed  up  his  advantage  to  his  own  infinite  gratification. 

"  Gentlemen, — Mr.  Effingham,  Mr.  John  Effing- 
ham" — (every  one  soon  came  to  make  this  distinc 
tion  in  addressing  the  cousins) — "  Miss  Effingham, 
Mademoiselle  Viefville  : — Mr.  Sharp,  Mr.  Blunt,  la 
dies  ; — gentlemen,  Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Sharp." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  33 

The  dignified  bow  of  Mr.  Effingham,  as  well  as 
the  faint  and  distant  smile  of  Eve,  would  have  re 
pelled  any  undue  familiarity  in  men  of  less  tone  than 
either  of  the  strangers,  both  of  whom  received  the 
unexpected  honour  like  those  who  felt  themselves  to 
be  intruders.  As  Mr.  Sharp  raised  his  hat  to  Eve, 
however,  he  held  it  suspended  a  moment  above  his 
head,  and  then  dropping  his  arm  to  its  full  length,  he 
bowed  with  profound  respect,  though  distantly.  Mr. 
Blunt  was  less  elaborate  in  his  salute,  but  as  pointed 
as  the  circumstances  at  all  required.  Both  gentle 
men  were  a  little  struck  with  the  distant  hauteur  of 
John  Effingham,  whose  bow,  while  it  fulfilled  all  the 
outward  forms,  whas  what  Eve  used  laughingly  to 
term  "  imperial.'*  The  bustle  of  preparation,  and  the 
certainty  that  there  would  be  no  want  of  opportuni 
ties  to  renew  the  intercourse,  prevented  more  than 
the  general  salutations,  and  the  new-comers  descended 
to  their  state-rooms. 

"  Did  you  remark  the  manner  in  which  those  peo- 

le  took  my  introduction?"  askecr*  Captain  Truck  of 

is  chief  mate,  whom  he  was  training  up  in  the  ways 

of  packet-politeness,  as  one  in  the  road  of  preferment. 

"  Now,  to  my  notion,  they  might  have  shook  hands 

at  least.     That's  what  I  call  Vattel" 

"  One  sometimes  falls  in  with  what  are  rum  chaps," 
returned  the  other,  who,  from  following  the  London 
trade,  had  caught  a  few  cockneyisrns.  "  If  a  man 
chooses  to  keep  his  hands  in  the  beckets,  why  let  him, 
say  I ;  but  I  take  it  as  a  slight  to  the  company  to  sheer 
out  of  the  usual  track  in  such  matters." 

"  I  was  thinking  as  much  myself;  but  after  all, 
what  can  packet-masters  do  in  such  a  case?  We  can 
set  luncheon  and  dinner  before  the  passengers,  but 
we  can't  make  them  eat.  Now,  my  rule  is,  when  a 
gentleman  introduces  me,  to  do  the  thing  handsomely, 
and  to  return  shake  for  shake,  if  it  is  three  times 


34  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

three;  but  as  for  a  touch  of  the  beaver,  rt  is  like  set 
tling  a  top-gallant  sail  in  passing  a  ship  at  sea,  and 
means  just  nothing  at  all.  Who  would  know  a  vessel 
because  he  has  let  run  his  halyards  and  swayed  the 
yard  up  again  ?  One  would  do  as  much  to  a  Turk 
for  manners'  sake.  No,  no!  there  is  something  in 
this,  and,  d —  me,  just  to  make  sure  of  it,  the  first 
good  opportunity  that  offers,  I'll  —  ay,  I'll  just  intro 
duce  them  all  over  again! — Let  the  people  ship  their 
handspikes,  Mr.  Leach,  and  heave  in  the  slack  of  the 
chain. — Ay,  ay !  I'll  take  an  opportunity  when  all 
hands  are  on  deck,  and  introduce  them,  ship-shape, 
one  by  one,  as  your  greenhorns  go  through  a  lubber's- 
hole,  or  we  shall  have  no  friendship  during  the  pas 
sage." 

The  mate  nodded  approbation,  as  if  the  other  had 
hit  upon  the  right  expedient,  and  then  he  proceeded 
to-  obey  the  orders,  while  the  cares  of  his  vessel  soon 
drove  the  subject  temporarily  from  the  mind  of  his 
commander.* 


CHAPTER   III. 

By  all  description,  this  should  be  the  place. 

Who's  here? — Speak,  ho! — No  answer? — What  is  this? 

Timon  of  Athens. 

A  SHIP  with  her  sails  loosened  and  her  ensign 
abroad  is  always  a  beautiful  object;  and  the  Mon- 
tauk,  a  noble  New-York-built  vessel  of  seven  hun 
dred  tons  burthen,  was  a  first-class  specimen  of  the 
"kettle-bottom"  school  of  naval  architecture,  want 
ing  in  nothing  that  the  taste  and  the  experience  of 
the  day  can  supply.  The  scene  that  was  now  acting 
before  their  eyes  therefore  soon  diverted  the  thoughts 
of  Mademoiselle  Viefville  and  Eve  from  the  iritro- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  35 

ductions  of  the  captain,  both  watching  with  intense 
interest  the  various  movements  of  the  crew  and  pas 
sengers  as  they  passed  in  review. 

A  crowd  of  well-dressed,  but  of  an  evidently  hum 
bler  class  of  persons  than  those  farther  aft,  were 
thronging  the  gangways,  little  dreaming  of  the  phy 
sical  suffering  they  were  to  endure  before  they  reach 
ed  the  land  of  promise, — that  distant  America,  to 
wards  which  the  poor  and  oppressed  of  nearly  all 
nations  turn  longing  eyes  in  quest  of  a  shelter.  Eve 
saw  with  wonder  aged  men  and  women  among 
them ;  beings  who  were  about  to  sever  most  of  the 
ties  of  the  world  in  order  to  obtain  relief  from  the 
physical  pains  and  privations  that  had  borne  hard 
on  them  for  more  than  threescore  years.  A  few 
had  made  sacrifices  of  themselves  in  obedience  to 
that  mysterious  instinct  which  man  feels  in  his  off 
spring;  while  others,  again,  went  rejoicing,  flushed 
with  the  hope  of  their  vigour  and  youth.  Some,  the 
victims  of  their  vices,  had  embarked  in  the  idle  ex 
pectation  that  a  change  of  scene,  with  increased 
means  of  indulgence,  could  produce  a  healthful 
change  of  character.  All  had  views  that  the  truth 
would  have  dimmed, — and,  perhaps,  no  single  ad 
venturer  nmong  the  emigrants  collected  in  that  ship 
entertained  either  sound  or  reasonable  notions  of  the 
mode  in  which  his  step  was  to  be  rewarded, — though 
many  may  meet  with  a  success  that  will  surpass 
their  brightest  pictures  for  the  future.  More,  no 
doubt,  were  to  be  disappointed. 

Reflections  something  like  these  passed  through 
the  mind  of  Eve  Effingham,  as  she  examined  the 
mixed  crowd,  in  which  some  were  busy  in  receiving 
stores  from  boats,  others  in  holding  parting  con 
ferences  with  friends,  in  which  a  few  were  weeping; 
here  and  there  a  group  was  drowning  reflection  in 
the  parting  cup;  while  wondering  children  looked  up 


36  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

with  anxiety  into  the  well-known  faces,  as  if  fearful 
they  might  lose  the  countenances  they  loved  and  the 
charities  on  which  they  habitually  relied,  in  such  a 
metie. 

Although  the  stern  discipline  which  separates  the 
cabin  and  steerage  passengers  into  castes  as  distinct 
as  those  of  the  Hindoos  had  not  yet  been  established, 
Captain  Truck  had  too  profound  a  sense  of  his  duty 
to  permit  the  quarter-deck  to  be  unceremoniously  in 
vaded.  This  part  of  the  ship,  then,  had  partially 
escaped  the  confusion  of  the  moment ;  though  trunks, 
boxes,  hampers,  and  other  similar  appliances  of  tra 
velling,  were  scattered  about  in  tolerable  affluence. 
Profiting  by  the  space,  of  which  there  was  still  suf 
ficient  for  the  purpose,  most  of  the  party  left  the 
hurricane-house  to  enjoy  the  short  walk  that  a  ship 
affords.  At  that  instant,  another  boat  from  the  land 
reached  the  vessel's  side,  and  a  grave-looking  per 
sonage,  who  was  not  disposed  to  lessen  his  dignity  by 
levity  or  an  omission  of  forms,  appeared  on  deck,  where 
he  demanded  to  be  shown  the  master.  An  introduc 
tion  was  unnecessary  in  this  instance ;  for  Captain 
Truck  no  sooner  saw  his  visiter  than  he  recognized 
the  well-known  features  and  solemn  pomposity  of  a 
civil  officer  of  Portsmouth,  who  was  often  employed 
to  search  the  American  packets,  in  pursuit  of  delin 
quents  of  all  degrees  of  crime  and  folly. 

"  I  had  just  come  to  the  opinion  I  was  not  to  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  this  passage,  Mr.  Grab," 
said  the  captain,  shaking  hands  familiarly  with  the 
myrmidon  of  the  law ;  "  but  the  turn  of  the  tide  is 
not  more  regular  than  you  gentlemen  who  come  in 
the  name  of  the  king. — Mr.  Grab,  Mr.  Dodge ;  Mr. 
Dodge,  Mr.  Grab.  And  now,  to  what  forgery,  or 
bigamy,  or  elopement,  or  scandalum  magnatum,  do  I 
owe  the  honour  of  your  company  this  time? — Sir 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  37 

George  Templemore,  Mr.  Grab;  Mr.  Grab,  Sir 
George  Templemore." 

Sir  George  bowed  with  the  dignified  aversion  an 
honest  man  might  be  supposed  to  feel  for  one  of  the 
other's  employment;  while  Mr.  Grab  looked  gravely 
and  with  a  counter  dignity  at  Sir  George.  The 
business  of  the  officer,  however,  was  with  none  in 
the  cabin  ;  but  he  had  come  in  quest  of  a  young  wo 
man  who  had  married  a  suitor  rejected  by  her 
uncle, — an  arrangement  that  was  likely  to  subject 
the  latter  to  a  settlement  of  accounts  which  he  found 
inconvenient,  and  which  he  had  thought  it  prudent  to 
anticipate  by  bringing  an  action  of  debt  against  the 
bridegroom  for  advances,  real  or  pretended,  made  to 
the  wife  during  her  nonage.  A  dozen  eager  ears 
caught  an  outline  of  this  tale  as  it  was  communicated 
to  the  captain,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  space  of 
time  it  was  known  throughout  the  ship,  with  not  a 
few  embellishments. 

"  I  do  not  know  the  person  of  the  husband,"  con 
tinued  the  officer,  "  nor  indeed  does  the  attorney  who 
is  with  me  in  the  boat;  but  his  name  is  Robert  Davis, 
and  you  can  have  no  difficulty  in  pointing  him  out. 
We  know  him  to  be  in  the  ship." 

"  I  never  introduce  any  steerage  passengers,  my 
dear  sir ;  and  there  is  no  such  person  in  the  cabin,  I 
give  you  my  honour, — and  that  is  a  pledge  that  must 
pass  between  gentlemen  like  us.  You  are  welcome 
to  search,  but  the  duty  of  the  vessel  must  go  on. 
Take  your  man — but  do  not  detain  the  ship. — Mr. 
Sharp,  Mr.  Grab;  Mr.  Grab,  Mr.  Sharp. — Bear  a 
hand  there,  Mr.  Leach,  and  let  us  have  the  slack 
of  the  chain  as  soon  as  possible." 

There  appeared  to  be  what  the  philosophers  call 
the  attraction  of  repulsion  between  the  parties  last 
introduced,  for  the  tall  gentlemanly-looking  Mr. 
Sharp  eyed  the  officer  with  a  supercilious  coldness, 

VOL.  r.  4 


38  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

neither  party  deeming  much  ceremony  on  the  occa 
sion  necessary.  Mr.  Grab  now  summoned  his  as 
sistant,  the  attorney,  from  the  boat,  and  there  was  a 
consultation  between  them  as  to  their  further  pro 
ceedings.  Fifty  heads  were  grouped  around  them, 
and  curious  eyes  watched  their  smallest  movements, 
one  of  the  crowd  occasionally  disappearing  to  report 
proceedings. 

Man  is  certainly  a  clannish  animal ;  for  without 
knowing  any  thing  of  the  merits  of  the  case,  without 
pausing  to  inquire  into  the  right  or  the  wrong  of  the 
matter,  in  the  pure  spirit  of  partisanship,  every  man, 
woman,  and  child  of  the  steerage,  which  contained 
fully  a  hundred  souls,  took  sides  against  the  law,  and 
enlisted  in  the  cause  of  the  defendant.  All  this  was 
done  quietly,  however,  for  no  one  menaced  or  dream 
ed  of  violence,  crew  and  passengers  usually  taking 
their  cues  from  the  officers  of  the  vessel  on  such  oc 
casions,  and  those  of  the  Montauk  understood  too 
well  the  rights  of  the  public  agents  to  commit  them 
selves  in  the  matter. 

"  Call  Robert  Davis,"  said  the  officer,  resorting  to 
a  ruse,  by  affecting  an  authority  he  had  no  right  to 
assume.  "  Robert  Davis !"  echoed  twenty  voices, 
among  which  was  that  of  the  bridegroom  himself, 
who  was  nigh  to  discover  his  secret  by  an  excess  of 
zeal.  It  was  easy  to  call,  but  no  one  answered. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  which  is  Robert  Davis,  my  little 
fellow  ?"  the  officer  asked  coaxingly,  of  a  fine  flaxen- 
headed  boy,  whose  age  did  not  exceed  ten,  and  who 
was  a  curious  spectator  of  what  passed.  "Tell  me 
which  is  Robert  Davis,  and  I  will  give  you  a  six 
pence." 

The  child  knew,  but  professed  ignorance. 

"C'estun  esprit  de  corps  admirable!"  exclaimed 
Mademoiselle  Viefville ;  for  the  interest  of  the  scene 
had  brought  nearly  all  on  board,  with  the  exception 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  39 

of  those  employed  in  the  duty  of  the  vessel,  near  the 
gangway.  "  Ceci  est  dtlicieux,  and  I  could  devour 
that  boy  !" 

What  rendered  this  more  odd,  or  indeed  absolutely 
ludicrous,  was  the  circumstance  that,  by  a  species  of 
legerdemain,  a  whisper  had  passed  among  the  spec 
tators  so  stealthily,  and  yet  so  soon,  that  the  attor 
ney  and  his  companion  were  the  only  two  on  deck 
who  remained  ignorant  of  the  person  of  the  man 
they  sought.  Even  the  children  caught  the  clue, 
though  they  had  the  art  to  indulge  their  natural 
curiosity  by  glances  so  sly  as  to  escape  detection. 

Unfortunately,  the  attorney  had  sufficient  know 
ledge  of  the  family  of  the  bride  to  recognize  her  by 
a  general  resemblance,  rendered  conspicuous  as  it 
was  by  a  pallid  face  and  an  almost  ungovernable 
nervous  excitement.  He  pointed  her  out  to  the  offi 
cer,  who  ordered  her  to  approach  him, — a  command 
that  caused  her  to  burst  into  tears.  The  agi-tation 
and  distress  of  his  wife  were  near  proving  too  much 
for  the  prudence  of  the  young  husband,  who  was 
making  an  impetuous  movement  towards  her,  wrhen 
the  strong  grasp  of  a  fellow-passenger  checked  him 
in  time  to  prevent  discovery.  It  is  singular  how 
much  is  understood  by  trifles  when  the  mind  has  a 
clue  to  the  subject,  and  how  often  signs,  that  are 
palpable  as  day,  are  overlooked  when  suspicion  is 
not  awakened,  or  when  the  thoughts  have  obtained  a 
false  direction.  The  attorney  and  the  officer  were 
the  only  two  present  who  had  not  seen  the  indiscre 
tion  of  the  young  man,  and  who  did  not  believe  him 
betrayed.  His  wife  trembled  to  a  degree  that  almost 
destroyed  the  ability  to  stand ;  but,  casting  an  im 
ploring  look  for  self-command  on  her  indiscreet  part 
ner,  she  controlled  her  own  distress,  and  advanced 
towards  the  officer,  in  obedience  to  his  order,  with  a 


40  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

power  of  endurance  that  the  strong  affections  of  a 
woman  could  alone  enable  her  to  assume. 

"  If  the  husband  will  not  deliver  himself  up,  I  shall 
be  compelled  to  order  the  wife  to  be  carried  ashore 
in  his  stead  !"  the  attorney  coldly  remarked,  while 
he  applied  a  pinch  of  snuff' to  a  nose  that  was  already 
saffron-coloured  from  the  constant  use  of  the  weed. 

A  pause  succeeded  this  ominous  declaration,  and 
the  crowd  of  passengers  betrayed  dismay,  for  all  be 
lieved  there  was  now  no  hope  for  the  pursued.  The 
wife  bowed  her  head  to  her  knees,  for  she  had  sunk 
on  a  box  as  if  to  hide  the  sight  of  her  husband's  ar 
rest.  At  this  moment  a  voice  spoke  from  among  the 
group  on  the  quarter-deck. 

"  Is  this  an  arrest  for  crime,  or  a  demand  for 
debt?"  asked  the  young  man  who  has  been  an 
nounced  as  Mr.  Blunt. 

There  was  a  quiet  authority  in  the  speaker's  man 
ner  that  reassured  the  failing  hopes  of  the  passen 
gers,  while  it  caused  the  attorney  and  his  companion 
to  look  round  in  surprise,  and  perhaps  a  little  in  re 
sentment.  A  dozen  eager  voices  assured  "  the  gen 
tleman"  there  was  no  crime  in  the  matter  at  all — 
there  was  even  no  just  debt,  but  it  was  a  villa  nous 
scheme  to  compel  a  wronged  ward  to  release  a  frau 
dulent  guardian  from  his  liabilities.  Though  all  this 
was  not  very  clearly  explained,  it  was  affirmed  with 
so  much  zeal  and  energy  as  to  awaken  suspicion, 
and  to  increase  the  interest  of  the  more  intelligent 
portion  of  the  spectators.  The  attorney  surveyed 
the  travelling  dress,  the  appearance  of  fashion,  and 
the  youth  of  his  interrogator,  whose  years  could  not 
exceed  five-and-twenty,  and  his  answer  was  given 
with  an  air  of  superiority. 

"  Debt  or  crime,  it  can  matter  nothing  in  the  eye 
of  the  law." 

"  It  matters  much  in  the  view  of  an  honest  man," 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  41 

returned  the  youth  with  spirit.  "  One  might  hesitate 
about  interfering  in  favour  of  a  rogue,  however 
ready  to  exert  himself  in  favour  of  one  who  is  inno 
cent,  perhaps,  of  every  thing  but  misfortune." 

"  This  looks  a  little  like  an  attempt  at  a  rescue !  I 
hope  we  are  still  in  England,  and  under  the  protec 
tion  of  English  laws?" 

"  No  doubt  at  all  of  that,  Mr.  Seal,"  put  in  the 
captain,  who  having  kept  an  eye  on  the  officer  from 
a  distance,  now  thought  it  time  to  interfere,  in  order 
to  protect  the  interests  of  his  owners.  "  Yonder  is 
England,  and  that  is  the  Isle-of  Wight,  and  the  Mon- 
tauk  has  hold  of  an  English  Bottom,  and  good 
anchorage  it  is ;  no  one  means  to  dispute  your 
authority,  Mr.  Attorney,  nor  to  call  in  question  that 
of  the  king.  Mr.  Blunt  merely  throws  out  a  sug 
gestion,  sir ;  or  rather,  a  distinction  between  rogues 
and  honest  men ;  nothing  more,  depend  on  it,  sir. — 
Mr.  Seal,  Mr.  Blunt ;  Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Seal.  And  a 
thousand  pities  it  is,  that  the  distinction  is  not  usually 
more  readily  made." 

The  young  man  bowed  slightly,  and  with  a  face 
that  was  flushed,  partly  with  feeling,  and  partly  at 
finding  himself  so  unexpectedly  conspicuous  among 
so  many  strangers,  he  advanced  a  little  from  the 
quarter-deck  group,  like  one  who  feels  he  is  required 
to  maintain  the  ground  he  had  assumed. 

"  No  one  can  be  disposed  to  question  the  supre 
macy  of  the  English  laws  in  this  roadstead,"  he  said, 
"  and  least  of  all  myself;  but  you  will  permit  me  to 
doubt  the  legality  of  arresting,  or  in  any  manner  de 
taining,  a  wife  in  virtue  of  a  process  issued  against 
the  husband." 

"  A  briefless  barrister !"  muttered  Seal  to  Grab 
"  I  dare  say  a  timely  guinea  would  have  silenced  the 
fellow.  What  is  now  to  be  done  V9 

4* 


42  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  The  lady  must  go  ashore,  and  all  these  matters 
can  be  arranged  before  a  magistrate." 

"  Ay,  ay !  let  her  sue  out  a  habeas  corpus  if  she 
please,"  added  the  ready  attorney,  whom  a  second 
survey  caused  to  distrust  his  first  inference.  "  Jus 
tice  is  blind  in  England  as  well  as  in  other  countries, 
and  is  liable  to  mistakes;  but  still  she  is  just.  If  she 
does  mistake  sometimes,  she  is  always  ready  to  re 
pair  the  wrong." 

"Cannot  you  do  something  here?"  Eve  involun 
tarily  half-whispered  to  Mr.  Sharp,  who  stood  at  her 
elbow. 

This  person  started  on  hearing  her  voice  making 
this  sudden  appeal,  and  glancing  a  look  of  intelli 
gence  at  her,  he  smiled  and  moved  nearer  to  the 
principal  parties. 

"  Really,  Mr.  Attorney,"  he  commenced,  "  this 
appears  to  be  rather  irregular,  I  must  confess, — quite 
out  of  the  ordinary  way,  and  it  may  lead  to  unplea 
sant  consequences." 

"In  what  manner,  sir'?"  interrupted  Seal,  mea 
suring  the  other's  ignorance  at  a  glance. 

"  Why,  irregular  in  form,  if  not  in  principle.  I 
am  aware  that  the  habeas  corpus  is  all-essential,  and 
that  the  law  must  have  its  way ;  but  really  this  does 
seem  a  little  irregular,  not  to  describe  it  by  any 
harsher  term." 

Mr.  Seal  treated  this  new  appeal  respectfully,  in 
appearance  at  least,  for  he  saw  it  was  made  by  one 
greatly  his  superior,  while  he  felt  an  utter  contempt 
for  it  in  essentials,  as  he  perceived  intuitively  that 
this  new  intercession  was  made  in  a  profound  igno 
rance  of  the  subject.  As  respects  Mr.  Blunt,  how 
ever,  he  had  an  unpleasant  distrust  of  the  result,  the 
quiet  manner  of  that  gentleman  denoting  more  con 
fidence  in  himself,  and  a  greater  practical  knowledge 
of  the  laws.  Still,  to  try  the  extent  of  the  other's 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  43 

information,  and  the  strength  of  his  nerves,  he  re 
joined  in  a  magisterial  and  menacing  tone — 

"  Yes,  let  the  lady  sue  out  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus 
if  wrongfully  arrested ;  and  I  should  be  glad  to  dis 
cover  the  foreigner  who  will  dare  to  attempt  a  res 
cue  in  old  England,  and  in  defiance  of  English  laws." 

It  is  probable  Paul  Blunt  would  have  relinquished 
his  interference,  from  an  apprehension  that  he  might 
be  ignorantly  aiding  the  evil-doer,  but  for  this  threat; 
and  even  the  threat  might  not  have  overcome  his 
prudence,  had  not  he  caught  the  imploring  look  of 
the  fine  blue  eyes  of  Eve. 

"  All  are  not  necessarily  foreigners  who  embark 
on  board  an  American  ship  at  an  English  port,"  he 
said  steadily,  "  nor  is  justice  denied  those  that  are. 
The  habeas  corpus  is  as  well  understood  in  other 
countries  as  in  this,  for  happily  we  are  in  an  age 
wjhen  neither  liberty  nor  knowledge  is  exclusive.  If 
an  attorney,  you  must  know  yourself  that  you  cannot 
legally  arrest  a  wife  for  a  husband,  and  that  what 
you  say  of  the  habeas  corpus  is  little  worthy  of  atten 
tion." 

"  We  arrest,  and  whoever  interferes  with  an  offi 
cer  in  charge  of  a  prisoner  is  guilty  of  a  rescue. 
Mistakes  must  be  rectified  by  the  magistrates." 

"  True,  provided  the  officer  has  warranty  for  what 
he  does." 

"  Writs  and  warrants  may  contain  errors,  but  an 
arrest  is  an  arrest,"  growled  Grab. 

.  "  Not  the  arrest  of  a  woman  for  a  man.  In  such 
a  case  there  is  design,  and  not  a  mistake.  If  this 
frightened  wife  will  take  counsel  from  me,  she  will 
refuse  to  accompany  you." 

".At  her  peril,  let  her  dare  do  so  !" 

"  At  your  peril  do  you  dare  to  attempt  forcing  her 
from  the  ship !" 

"  Gentlemen,  gentlemen ! — let  there  be  no  misun- 


44  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

derstanding,  I  pray  you,"  interposed  the  captain. 
"Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Grab;  Mr.  Grab,  Mr.  Blunt.  No 
warm  words,  gentlemen,  I  beg  of  you.  But  the  tide 
is  beginning  to  serve,  Mr.  Attorney,  and  'time  and 
tide,'  you  know —  If  we  stay  here  much  longer,  the 
Montauk  may  be  forced  to  sail  on  the  2d,  instead  of 
the  1st,  as  has  been  advertised  in  both  hemispheres. 
I  should  be  sorry  to  carry  you  to  sea,  gentlemen, 
without  your  small  stores;  and  as  for  the  cabin,  it  is 
as  full  as  a  lawyer's  conscience.  No  remedy  but  the 
steerage  in  such  a  case. — Lay  forward,  men,  and 
heave  away.  Some  of  you,  man  the  fore-top-sail 
halyards. — We  are  as  regular  as  our  chronometers; 
the  1st,  10th,  and  20th,  without  fail." 

There  was  some  truth,  blended  with  a  little  poetry, 
in  Captain  Truck's  account  of  the  matter.  The  tide 
had  indeed  made  in  his  favour,  but  the  little  wind 
there  was  blew  directly  into  the  roadstead,  and  had 
not  his  feelings  become  warmed  by  the  distress  of  a 
pretty  and  interesting  young  woman,  it  is  more  than 
probable  the  line  would  have  incurred  the  disgrace 
of  having  a  ship  sail  on  a  later  day  than  had  been 
advertised.  As  it  was,  however,  he  had  taken  the 
matter  up  in  earnest,  and  he  privately  assured  Sir 
George  and  Mr.  Dodge,  if  the  affair  were  not  imme 
diately  disposed  of,  he  should  carry  both  the  attorney 
and  officer  to  sea  with  him,  and  that  he  did  not  feel 
himself  bound  to  furnish  either  with  water.  "  They 
may  catch  a  little  rain,  by  wringing  their  jackets," 
he  added,  with  a  wink;  "  though  October  is  a  drv- 
ish  month  in  the  American  seas." 

The  decision  of  Paul  Blunt  would  have  induced 
the  attorney  and  his  companion  to  relinquish  their 
pursuit  but  for  two  circumstances.  They  had  both 
undertaken  the  job  as  a  speculation,  or  on  the  princi- 
>le  of  "  no  play,  no  pay,"  and  all  their  trouble  would 
lost  without  success.  Then  the  very  difficulty 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  45 

that  occurred  had  been  foreseen,  and  while  the  officer 
proceeded  to  the  ship,  the  uncle  had  been  busily 
searching  for  a  son  on  shore,  to  send  off  to  identify 
the  husband, — a  step  that  would  have  been  earlier 
resorted  to  could  the  young  man  have  been  found. 
This-son  was  a  rejected  suitor,  and  he  was  now  seen, 
by  the  aid  of  a  glass  that  Mr.  Grab  always  carried, 
pulling  towards  the  Montauk,  in  a  two-oared  boat, 
with  as  much  zeal  as  malignancy  and  disappointment 
could  impart.  His  distance  from  the  ship  was  still 
considerable ;  but  a  peculiar  hat,  with  the  aid  of  the 
glass,  left  no  doubt  of  his  identity.  The  attorney 
pointed  out  the  boat  to  the  officer,  and  the  latter, 
after  a  look  through  the  glass,  gave  a  nod  of  appro 
bation.  Exultation  overcame  the  usual  wariness  of 
the  attorney,  for  his  pride,  too,  had  got  to  be  enlisted 
in  the  success  of  his  speculation, — men  being  so 
strangely  constituted  as  often  to  feel  as  much  joy  in 
the  accomplishment  of  schemes  that  are  unjustifiable, 
as  in  the  accomplishment  of  those  of  which  they  may 
have  reason  to  be  proud. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  passengers  and  people  of 
the  packet  seized  something  near  the  truth,  with  that 
sort  of  instinctive  readiness  which  seems  to  charac 
terize  bodies  of  men  in  moments  of  excitement.  That 
the  solitary  boat  which  was  pulling  towards  them  in 
the  dusk  of  the  evening  contained  some  one  who 
might  aid  the  attorney  and  his  myrmidon,  all  believ 
ed,  though  in  what  manner  none  could  tell. 

Between  all  seamen  and  the  ministers  of  the  law 
there  is  a  long-standing  antipathy,  for  the  visits  of 
former  are  usually  so  timed  as  to  leave  nothing  be 
tween  the  alternatives  of  paying  or  of  losing  a  voy 
age.  It  was  soon  apparent,  then,  that  Mr.  Seal  had 
little  to  expect  from  the  apathy  of  the  crew,  for  never 
did  men  work  with  better  will  to  get  a  ship  loosened 
from  the  bottom. 


46  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

All  this  feeling  manifested  itself  in  a  silent  and  in 
telligent  activity  rather  than  in  noise  or  bustle,  for 
every  man  on  board  exercised  his  best  faculties,  as 
well  as  his  best  good  will  and  strength  ;  the  clock 
work  ticks  of  the  palls  of  the  windlass  resembling 
those  of  a  watch  that  had  got  the  start  of  time,  while 
the  chain  came  in  with  surges  of  half  a  fathom  at 
each  heave. 

"Lay  hold  of  this  rope,  men,'*  cried  Mr.  Leach, 
placing  the  end  of  the  main-topsail  halyards  in  the 
hands  of  half-a-dozen  athletic-  steerage  passengers, 
who  had  all  the  inclination  in  the  world  to  be  doing, 
though  uncertain  where  to  lay  their  hands;  "lay 
hold,  and  run  away  with  it." 

The  second  mate  performed  the  same  feat  forward, 
and  as  the  sheets  had  never  been  started,  the  broad 
folds  of  the  Montauk's  canvass  began  to  open,  even 
while  the  men  were  heaving  at  the  anchor.  These 
exertions  quickened  the  blood  in  the  veins  of  those 
who  were  not  employed,  until  even  the  quarter-deck 
passengers  began  to  experience  the  excitement  of  a 
chase,  in  addition  to  the  feelings  of  compassion.  Cap 
tain  Truck  was  very  silent,  but  active  in  prepara 
tions.  Springing  to  the  wheel,  he  made  its  spokes 
fly  until  he  had  forced  the  helm  hard  up,  when  he  un 
ceremoniously  gave  it  to  John  Effingham  to  keep 
there.  His  next  leap  was  to  the  foot  of  the  mizen- 
mast,  where,  after  a  few  energetic  efforts  alone,  he 
looked  over  his  shoulder  and  beckoned  for  aid. 

"  Sir  George  Templemore,  mizen-topsail  halyards; 
mizen-topsail-halyards,  Sir  George  Templemore," 
muttered  the  eager  master,  scarce  knowing  what  he 
said.  "  Mr.  Dodge,  now  is  the  time  to  show  that  your 
name  and  nature  are  not  identical." 

In  short,  nearly  all  on  board  were  busy,  and,  thanks 
to  the  hearty  good  will  of  the  officers,  stewards, 
cooks,  and  a  few  of  the  hands  that  could  be  spared 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  47 

from  the  windlass,  busy  in  a  way  to  spread  sail  after 
sail  with  a  rapidity  little  short  of  that  seen  on  board 
of  a  vessel  of  war.  The  rattling  of  the  clew-garnet 
blocks,  as  twenty  lusty  fellows  ran  forward  with  the 
tack  of  the  mainsail,  and  the  hauling  forward  of 
braces,  was  the  signal  that  the  ship  was  clear  of  the 
ground,  and  coming  under  command. 

A  cross  current  had  superseded  the  necessity  of 
casting  the  vessel,  but  her  sails  took  the  light  air 
nearly  abeam;  the  captain  understanding  that  mo 
tion  was  of  much  more  importance  just  then  than  di 
rection.  No  sooner  did  he  perceive  by  the  bubbles 
that  floated  past,  or  rather  appeared  to  float  past,  that 
his  ship  was  dividing  the  water  forward,  than  he  call 
ed  a  trusty  man  to  the  wheel,  relieving  John  Effing- 
ham  from  his  watch.  The  next  instant,  Mr.  Leach 
reported  the  anchor  catted  and  fished. 

"  Pilot,  you  will  be  responsible  for  this  if  my  pri 
soners  escape,"  said  Mr.  Grab  menacingly.  "  You 
know  my  errand,  and  it  is  your  duty  to  aid  the  minis 
ters  of  the  law." 

"Harkee,  Mr.  Grab,"  put  in  the  master,  who  had 
warmed  himself  with  the  exercise;  "we  all  know, 
and  we  all  do  our  duties,  on  board  the  Montauk.  It 
is  your  duty  to  take  Robert  Davis  on  shore  if  you 
can  find  him  ;  and  it  is  my  duty  to  take  the  Montauk 
to  America:  now,  if  you  will  receive  counsel  from  a 
well-wisher,  I  would  advise  you  to  see  that  you  do 
not  go  in  her.  No  one  offers  any  impediment  to  your 
performing  your  office,  and  I'll  thank  you  to  offer  me 
none  in  performing  mine. — Brace  the  yards  further 
forward,  boys,  and  let  the  ship  come  up  to  the  wind." 

As  there  were  logic,  useful  information,  law,  and 
seamanship  united  in  this  reply,  the  attorney  began 
to  betray  uneasiness;  for  by  this  time  the  ship  had 
gathered  so  much  way  as  to  render  it  exceedingly 
doubtful  whether  a  two-oared  boat  would  be  able  to 


48  HOMEWARD    BCUiND. 

come  up  with  her,  without  the  consent  of  those  on 
board.  It  is  probable,  as  evening  had  already  closed, 
and  the  rays  of  the  moon  were  beginning  to  quiver 
on  the  ripple  of  the  water,  that  he  would  have  aban 
doned  his  object,  though  with  infinite  reluctance,  had 
not  Sir  George  Templernore  pointed  out  to  the  cap 
tain  a  six-oared  boat,  that  was  pulling  towards  them 
from  a  quarter  that  permitted  it  to  be  seen  in  the 
moonlight. 

"  That  appears  to  be  a  man-of-war's  cutter,"  ob 
served  the  baronet  uneasily,  for  by  this  time  all  on 
board  felt  a  sort  of  personal  interest  in  their  escape. 

"It  does  indeed,  Captain  Truck,"  added  the  pilot ; 
and  if  she  make  a  signal,  it  will  become  my  duty  to 
heave-to  the  Montauk." 

"  Then  bundle  out  of  her,  my  fine  fellow,  as  fast  as 
you  can ;  for  nol  a  brace  or  a  bowline  shall  be  touch 
ed  here,  with  my  consent,  for  any  such  purpose.  The 
ship  is  cleared, — my  hour  is  come, — my  passengers 
are  on  board, — and  America  is  my  haven. — Let 
them  that  want  me,  catch  me.  That  is  what  I  call 
Vattel." 

The  pilot  and  the  master  of  the  Montauk  were  ex 
cellent  friends,  and  understood  each  other  perfectly, 
even  while  the  former  was  making  the  most  serious 
professions  of  duty.  The  boat  was  hauled  up,  and, 
first  whispering  a  few  cautions  about  the  shoals  and 
the  currents,  the  worthy  marine  guide  leaped  into  it, 
and  was  soon  seen  floating  astern — a  cheering  proof 
that  the  ship  had  got  fairly  in  motion.  As  he  fell  out  of 
hearing  in  the  wake  of  the  vessel,  the  honest  fellow 
kept  calling  out  "  to  tack  in  season." 

"  If  you  wish  to  try  the  speed  of  your  boat  against 
that  of  the  pilot,  Mr.  Grab,"  called  out  the  captain, 
"  you  will  never  have  a  better  opportunity.  It  is  a 
fine  night  for  a  regatta,  and  1  will  stand  you  a  pound 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  49 

on  Mr.  Handlead's  heels.  For  that  matter,  I  would 
as  soon  trust  his  head,  or  his  hands,  in  the  bargain." 
The  officer  continued  obstinately  on  board,  for  he 
saw  that  the  six-oared  boat  was  coming  up  with  the 
ship,  and,  as  he  well  knew  the  importance  to  his  client 
of  compelling  a  settlement  of  the  accounts,  he  fancied 
some  succour  might  be  expected  in  that  quarter.  In 
the  mean  time,  this  new  movement  on  the  part  of  their 
pursuers  attracted  general  attention,  and,  as  might  be 
expected,  the  interest  of  this  little  incident  increased 
the  excitement  that  usually  accompanies  a  departure 
for  a  long  sea-voyage,  fourfold.  Men  and  women 
forgot  their  griefs  and  leave-takings  in  anxiety,  and 
in  that  pleasure  which  usually  attends  agitation  of 
the  mind  that  does  not  proceed  from  actual  misery  of 
our  own. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Whither  away  so  fast  ? 

O  God  save  you ! 

Even  to  the  hall  to  hear  what  shall  become 
Of  the  great  Duke  of  Buckingham. 

Henry  VIIL 

THE  assembling  of  the  passengers  of  a  large  packet- 
ship  is  necessarily  an  affair  of  coldness  and  distrust, 
especially  with  those  who  know  the  world,  and  more 
particularly  still  when  the  passage  is  from  Europe  to 
America.  The  greater  sophistication  of  the  old  than 
of  the  new  hemisphere,  with  its  consequent  shifts  and 
vices,  the  knowledge  that  the  tide  of  emigration  sets 
westward,  and  that  few  abandon  the  homes  of  their 
youth  unless  impelled  by  misfortune  at  least,  with 
other  obvious  causes,  unite  to  produce  this  distinction. 
Then  come  the  fastidiousness  of  habits,  the  sentiments 

VOL.  T.  5 


50  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

of  social  castes,  the  refinements  of  breeding,  and  the 
reserves  of  dignity  of  character,  to  be  put  in  close 
collision  with  bustling  egotism,  ignorance  of  usages, 
an  absence  of  training,  and  downright  vulgarity  of 
thought  and  practices.  Although  necessity  soon 
brings  these  chaotic  elements  into  something  like  or 
der,  the  first  week  commonly  passes  in  reconnoitring, 
cool  civilities,  and  cautious  concessions,  to  yield  at 
length  to  the  never-dying  charities;  unless,  indeed, 
the  latter  may  happen  to  be  kept  in  abeyance  by  a 
downright  quarrel,  about  midnight  carousals,  a 
squeaking  fiddle,  or  some  incorrigible  snorer. 

Happily,  the  party  collected  in  the  Montauk  had 
the  good  fortune  to  abridge  the  usual  probation  in 
courtesies,  by  the  stirring  events  of  the  night  on  which 
they  sailed.  Two  hours  had  scarcely  elapsed  since 
the  last  passenger  crossed  the  gangway,  and  yet  the 
respective  circles  of  the  quarter-deck  and  steerage 
felt  more  sympathy  with  each  other  than  boasted  hu 
man  charities  ordinarily  quicken  in  days  of  common 
place  intercourse.  They  had  already  found  out  each 
other's  names,  thanks  to  the  assiduity  of  Captain 
Truck,  who  had  stolen  time,  in  the  midst  of  all  his 
activity,  to  make  half-a-dozen  more  introductions, 
and  the  Americans  of  the  less  trained  class  were  al 
ready  using  them  as  freely  as  if  they  were  old  ac 
quaintances.  We  say  the  Americans,  for  the  cabins 
of  these  ships  usually  contain  a  congress  of  nations, 
though  the  people  of  England,  and  of  her  ci-devant 
colonies,  of  course  predominate  in  those  of  the  Lon 
don  lines.  On  the  present  occasion,  the  last  two  were 
nearly  balanced  in  numbers,  so  far  as  national  cha 
racter  could  be  made  out;  opinion  (which,  as  might 
be  expected,  had  been  busy  the  while,)  being  sus 
pended  in  reference  to  Mr.  Blunt,  and  one  or  two 
others  whom  the  captain  called  "foreigners,"  to  dis 
tinguish  them  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  stock. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  51 

This  equal  distribution  of  forces  might,  under  other 
circumstances,  have  led  to  a  division  in  feeling;  for 
the  conflicts  between  American  and  British  opinions, 
coupled  with  a  difference  in  habits,  are  a  prolific 
source  of  discontent  in  the  cabins  of  packets.  The 
American  is  apt  to  fancy  himself  at  home,  under  the 
flag  of  his  country;  while  his  Transatlantic  kinsman 
is  strongly  addicted  to  fancying  that  when  he  has 
fairly  paid  his  money,  he  has  a  right  to  embark  all  his 
prejudices  with  his  other  luggage.  - 

The  affair  of  the  attorney  and  the  newly-married 
couple,  however,  was  kept  quite  distinct  from  all  feel 
ings  of  nationality;  the  English  apparently  enter 
taining  quite  as  lively  a  wish  that  the  latter  might 
escape  from  the  fangs  of  the  law,  as  any  other  por 
tion  of  the  passengers.  The  parties  themselves  were 
British,  and  although  the  authority  evaded  was  of  the 
same  origin,  right  or  wrong,  all  on  board  had  taken 
up  the  impression  that  it  was  improperly  exercised. 
Sir  George  Templemore,  the  Englishman  of  highest 
rank,  too,  was  decidedly  of  this  way  of  thinking, — 
an  opinion  he  was  rather  warm  in  expressing, — and 
the  example  of  a  baronet  had  its  weight,  not  only 
with  most  of  his  own  countrymen,  but  with  not  a  few 
of  the  Americans  also.  The  Effingham  party,  to 
gether  with  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt,  were,  indeed, 
all  who  seemed  to  be  entirely  indifferent  to  Sir 
George's  sentiments;  and,  as  men  are  intuitively 
quick  in  discovering  who  do  and  who  do  not  defer  to 
their  suggestions,  their  accidental  independence  might 
have  been  favoured  by  this  fact,  for  the  discourse  of 
this  gentleman  was  addressed  in  the  main  to  those 
who  lent  the  most  willing  ears.  Mr.  Dodge,  in  par 
ticular,  was  his  constant  and  respectful  listener,  and 
profound  admirer: — But  then  he  was  his  room-mate, 
and  a  democrat  of  a  water  so  pure,  that  he  was  dis- 


52  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

posed  to  maintain  no  man  had  a  right  to  any  one  of 
his  senses,  unless  by  popular  sufferance. 

In  the  mean  while,  the  night  advanced,  and  the  soft 
light  of  the  moon  was  playing  on  the  waters,  adding 
a  semi-mysterious  obscurity  to  the  other  excitement  of 
the  scene.  The  two-oared  boat  had  evidently  been 
overtaken  by  that  carrying  six  oars,  and,  after  a  short 
conference,  the  first  had  returned  reluctantly  towards 
the  land,  while  the  latter,  profiting  by  its  position, 
had  set  two  lug-sails,  and  was  standing  out  into  the 
offing,  on  a  course  that  would  compel  the  Montauk 
to  come  under  its  lee,  when  the  shoals,  as  would  soon 
be  the  case,  should  force  the  ship  to  tack. 

"  England  is  most  inconveniently  placed,"  Captain 
Truck  drily  remarked  as  he  witnessed  this  manoeuvre. 
"Were  this  island  only  out  of  the  way,  now,  we 
might  stand  on  as  w7e  head,  and  leave  those  man-of- 
war's  men  to  amuse  themselves  all  night  with  back 
ing  and  filling  in  the  roads  of  Portsmouth." 

"  I  hope  there  is  no  danger  of  that  little  boat's  over 
taking  this  large  ship  !"  exclaimed  Sir  George,  with 
a  vivacity  that  did  great  credit  to  his  philanthropy,  ac 
cording  to  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Dodge  at  least;  the  lat 
ter  having  imbibed  a  singular  bias  in  favour  of  per 
sons  of  condition,  from  having  travelled  in  an  eilwa- 
gen  with  a  German  baron,  from  whom  he  had  taken 
a  model  of  the  pipe  he  carried  but  never  smoked,  and 
from  having  been  thrown  for  two  days  and  nights 
into  the  society  of  a  "  Polish  countess,"  as  he  uni 
formly  termed  her,  in  the  gondole  of  a  diligence,  be 
tween  Lyons  and  Marseilles.  In  addition,  Mr.  Dodge, 
as  has  just  been  hinted,  was  an  ultra-freeman  at  home 
— a  circumstance  that  seems  always  to  react  when 
the  subject  of  the  feeling  gets  into  foreign  countries. 

"A  feather  running  before  a  lady's  sigh  would 
outsail  either  of  us  in  trTis  air,  which  breathes  on  us 
in  some  such  fashion  as  a  whale  snores,  Sir  George, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.         *  53 

by  sudden  puffs.  I  would  give  the  price  of  a  steer 
age  passage,  if  Great  Britain  lay  off  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  for  a  week  or  ten  days." 

"  Or  Cape  Hatteras  !"  rejoined  the  mate. 

"  Not  I;  I  wi.sh  the  old  island  no  harm,  nor  a  worse 
climate  than  it  has  got  already;  though  it  lies  as 
much  in  our  way  just  at  this  moment,  as  the  moon 
in  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  I  bear  the  old  creature  a 
great-grandson's  love — or  a  step  or  two  farther  off, 
if  you  will, — and  come  and  go  too  often  to  forget  the 
relationship.  But,  much  as  I  love  her,  the  affection 
is  not  strong  enough  to  go  ashore  on  her  shoals,  and 
so  we  will  go  about,  Mr.  Leach  ;  at  the  same  time,  I 
wish  from  my  heart  that  two-lugged  rascal  would  go 
about  his  business." 

The  ship  tacked  slowly  but  gracefully,  for  she  was 
in  what  her  master  termed  "racing  trim;"  and  as 
her  bows  fell  off  to  the  eastward,  it  became  pretty 
evident  to  all  who  understood  the  subject,  that  the 
two  little  lug-sails  that  were  "  eating  into  the  wind," 
as  the  sailors  express  it,  would  weather  upon  her 
track  ere  she  could  stretch  over  to  the  other  shoal. 
Even  the  landsmen  had  some  feverish  suspicions  of 
the  truth,  and  the  steerage  passengers  were  already 
holding  a  secret  conference  on  the  possibility  of  hid 
ing  the  pursued  in  some  of  the  recesses  of  the  ship. 
"  Such  things  were  often  done,"  one  whispered  to 
another,  "  and  it  was  as  easy  to  perform  it  now  as 
at  any  other  time." 

But  Captain  Truck  viewed  the  matter  differently  : 
his  vocation  called  him  three  times  a  year  into  the 
roads  at  Portsmouth,  and  he  felt  little  disposition  to 
embarrass  his  future  intercourse  with  the  place  by 
setting  its  authorities  at  a  too  open  defiance.  He 
deliberated  a  good  deal  on  the  propriety  of  throwing 
his  ship  up  into  the  wind,  as  she  slowly  advanced  to 
wards  the  boat,  and  of  inviting  those  in  the  latter  to 
5* 


54  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

board  him.  Opposed  to  this  was  the  pride  of  profes 
sion,  and  Jack  Truck  was  not  a  man  to  overlook  or 
to  forget  the  "  yarns"  that  were  spun  among  his  fel 
lows  at  the  New  England  CofFee-hcuse,  or  a'mon^ 
those  farming  hamlets  on  the  banks  af  the  Connecti 
cut,  whence  all  the  packet-men  are  derived,  and 
whither  they  repair  for  a  shelter  when  their  careers 
are  run,  as  regularly  as  the  fruit  decays  where  it  fall- 
eth,  or  the  grass  that  has  not  been  harvested  or 
cropped  withers  on  its  native  stalk. 

"There  is  no  question,  Sir  George,  that  this  fellow 
is  a  man-of-war's  man,"  said  the  master  to  the  baro 
net,  who  stuck  close  to  his  side.  "Take  a  peep  at 
the  creeping  rogue  through  this  night-glass,  and  you 
will  see  his  crew  seated  at  their  thwarts  with  their 
arms  folded,  like  men  who  eat  the  king's  beef.  None 
but  your  regular  public  servant  ever  gets  that  impu 
dent  air  of  idleness  about  him,  either  in  England  or 
America.  In  this  respect,  human  nature  is  the  same 
in  both  hemispheres,  a  man  never  falling  in  -with 
luck,  but  he  fancies,  it  is  no  more  than  his  deserts." 

"  There  seems  to  be  a  great  many  of  them  !  Can 
it  be  their  intention  to  carry  the  vessel  by  boarding?" 

"  If  it  is,  they  must  take  the  will  for  the  deed,"  re 
turned  Mr.  Truck  a  little  coldly.  "  I  very  much 
question  if  the  Montauk,  with  three  cabin  officers,  as 
many  stewards,  two  cooks,  and  eighteen  foremast- 
men,  would  exactly  like  the  notion  of  being  'carried,' 
as  you  style  it,  Sir  George,  by  a  six-oared  cutter's 
crew.  We  are  not  as  heavy  as  the  planet  Jupiter, 
but  have  somewhat  too  much  gravity  to  be  'carried' 
as  lightly  as  all  that,  too." 

"  You  intend,  then,  to  resist  ?"  asked  Sir  George, 
whose  generous  zeal  in  behalf  of  the  pursued  appa 
rently  led  him  to  take  a  stronger  interest  in  their 
escape  than  any  other  person  on  board. 

Captain  Truck,  who  had  never  an  objection  to 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  O» 

sport,  pondered  with  himself  a  little,  smiled,  and  then 
loudly  expressed  a  wish  that  he  had  a  member  of 
congress  or  a  member  of  parliament  on  board. 

"Your  desire  is  a  little  extraordinary  for  the  cir 
cumstances,"  observed  Mr.  Sharp ;  "will  you  have 
the  goodness  to  explain  why  ?" 

"  This  matter  touches  on  inter-national  law>  gen 
tlemen,"  continued  the  master,  rubbing  his  hands; 
for,  in  addition  to  having  caught  the  art  of  introduc 
ing,  the  honest  mariner  had  taken  it  into  his  head  he 
had  become  an  adept  in  the  principles  of  Vattel,  of 
whom  he  possessed  a  well-thumbed  copy,  and  for 
whose  dogmas  he  entertained  the  deference  that  they 
who  begin  to  learn  late  usually  feel  for  the  particular 
master  into  whose  hands  they  have  accidentally 
fallen.  "  Under  what  circumstances,  or  in  what  cate 
gory,  can  a  public  armed  ship  compel  a  neutral  to 
submit  to  being  boarded — not  '  carried,'  Sir  George, 
you  will  please  to  remark;  for  d rne,  if  any  man 

*  carries'  the  Montauk  that  is  not  strong  enough  to 

*  carry'  her  crew  and  cargo  along  with  her! — but  in 
what  category,  nowr,  is  a  packet  like  this  I  have  the 
honour  to  command  obliged,  in  comity,  to  heave-to 
and  to  submit  to  an  examination  at  all?     The  ship  is 
a-weigh,  and  has  handsomely  tacked  under  her  can 
vass;  and,  gentlemen,  I  should  be  pleased  to  have 
your  sentiments  on  the  occasion.     Just  have  the  con 
descension  to  point  out  the  category." 

Mr.  Dodge  came  from  a  part  of  the  country  in 
which  men  were  accustomed  to  think,  act,  almost  to 
eat  and  drink  and  sleep,  in  common;  or,  in  other 
words,  from  one  of  those  regions  in  America,  in 
which  there  was  so  much  community,  that  few  had 
the  moral  courage,  even  when  they  possessed  the 
knowledge,  and  all  the  other  necessary  means,  to 
cause  their  individuality  to  be  respected.  When  the 
usual  process  of  conventions,  sub-conventions,  cau- 


56  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

cusses,  and  public  meetings  did  not  supply  the  means 
of  "  concentrated  action,"  he  and  his  neighbours  had 
long  been  in  the  habit  of  having  recourse  to  societies, 
by  way  of  obtaining  "energetic  means,"  as  it  was 
termed ;  and  from  his  tenth  year  up  to  his  twenty- 
fifth,  this  gentleman  had  been  either  a  president,  vice- 
president,  manager,  or  committee-man,  of  some  phi 
losophical,  political,  or  religious  expedient  to  fortify 
human  wisdom,  make  men  better,  and  resist  error 
and  despotism.  His  experience  had  rendered  him 
expert  in  what  may  well  enough  be  termed  the  lan 
guage  of  association.  No  man  of  his  years,  in  the 
t\venty-six  states,  could  more  readily  apply  the  terms 
of  "  taking  up" — "  excitement" — "  unqualified  hosti 
lity" — "  public  opinion" — "  spreading  before  the  pub 
lic,"  or  any  other  of  those  generic  phrases  that  imply 
the  privileges  of  all,  and  the  rights  of  none.  Unfor 
tunately,  the  pronunciation  of  this  person  was  not  as 
pure  as  his  motives,  and  he  misunderstood  the  cap 
tain  when  he  spoke  of  comity,  as  meaning  a  "  com 
mittee;"  and  although  it  was  not  quite  obvious  what 
the  worthy  mariner  could  intend  by  "  obliged  in  com 
mittee  (comity)  to  heave-to,"  yet,  as  he  had  known 
these  bodies  to  do  so  many  "  energetic  things,"  he 
did  not  see  why  they  might  not  perform  this  evolu 
tion  as  well  as  another. 

"  It  really  does  appear,  Captain  Truck,"  he  remark 
ed  accordingly,  "  that  our  situation  approaches  a 
crisis,  and  the  suggestion  of  a  comity  (committee) 
strikes  me  as  being  peculiarly  proper  and  suitable  to 
the  circumstances,  and  in  strict  conformity  with  re 
publican  usages.  In  order  to  save  time,  and  that  the 
gentlemen  who  shall  be  appointed  to  serve  may  have 
opportunity  to  report,  therefore,  I  will  at  once  nomi 
nate  Sir  George  Templemore  as  chairman,  leaving  it 
for  any  other  gentleman  present  to  suggest  the  name 
of  any  candidate  he  may  deem  proper.  I  will  only 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  57 

add,  that  in  my  poor  judgment  this  comity  (commit 
tee)  ought  to  consist  of  at  least  three,  and  that  it  have 
power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers." 

"  I  would  propose  five,  Captain  Truck,  by  way  of 
amendment,"  added  another  passenger  of  the  same 
kidney  as  the  last  speaker,  gentlemen  of  their  school 
making  it  a  point  to  differ  a  little  from  every  proposi 
tion  by  way  of  showing  their  independence. 

It  was  fortunate  for  both  the  mover  of  the  original 
motion,  and  for  the  proposer  of  the  amendment,  that 
the  master  was  acquainted  with  the  character  of  Mr. 
Dodge,  or  a  proposition  that  his  ship  was  to  be  worked 
by  a  committee,  (or  indeed  by  comity,)  would  have  been 
very  likely  to  meet  with  but  an  indifferent  reception ; 
but,  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  laughing  eyes  of  Eve, 
as  well  as  of  the  amused  faces  of  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr. 
Blunt,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  he  very  gravely  sig 
nified  his  entire  approbation  of  the  chairman  named, 
and  his  perfect  readiness  to  listen  to  the  report  of  the 
aforesaid  committee  as  soon  as  it  might  be  prepared 
to  make  it. 

"  And  if  your  committee,  or  comity,  gentlemen," 
he  added,  "  can  tell  me  what  Vattel  would  say  about 
the  obligation  to  heave-to  in  a  time  of  profound  peace, 
and  when  the  ship,  or  boat,  in  chase,  can  have  no 
belligerent  rights,  I  shall  be  grateful  to  my  dying  day; 
for  I  have  looked  him  through  as  closely  as  old  wo 
men  usually  examine  almanacks  to  tell  which  way 
the  wind  is  about  to  blow,  and  I  fear  he  has  over 
looked  the  subject  altogether." 

Mr.  Dodge,  and  three  or  four  more  of  the  same 
community-propensity  as  himself,  soon  settled  the 
names  of  the  rest  of  the  committee,  when  the  nominees 
retired  to  another  part  of  the  deck  to  consult  together  ; 
S?P  George  Templemore,  to  the  surprise  of  all  the 
Effingham  party,  consenting  to  serve  with  a  willing 
ness  that  rather  disregarded  forms. 


58  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  It  might  be  convenient  to  refer  other  matters  to 
this  committee,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Sharp,  who  had 
tact  enough  to  see  that  nothing  but  her  habitual  retenue 
of  deportment  kept  Eve,  whose  bright  eyes  were 
dancing  with  humour,  from  downright  laughter: 
"  these  are  the  important  points  of  reefing  and  furling, 
the  courses  to  be  steered,  the  sail  to  be  carried,  the 
times  and  seasons  of  calling  all  hands  together,  with 
sundry  other  customary  duties,  that  no  doubt  would 
be  .well  treated  on  in  this  forthcoming  report." 

"No  doubt,  sir;  I  perceive  you  have  been  at  sea 
before,  and  I  am  sorry  you  were  overlooked  in  naming 
the  members  of  the  comity:  take  my  word  for  it,  all 
that  you  have  mentioned  can  be  done  on  board  the 
Montauk  by  a  comity,  as  well  as  settling  the  question 
of  heaving-to,  or  not,  for  yonder  boat. — By  the  way, 
Mr.  Leach,  the  fellows  have  tacked,  and  are  standing 
in  this  direction,  thinking  to  cross  our  bows  and  speak 
us. — Mr.  Attorney,  the  tide  is  setting  us  off  the  land, 
and  you  may  make  it  morning  before  you  get  into 
your  nests,  if  you  hold  on  much  longer.  I  fear  Mrs. 
Seal  and  Mrs.  Grab  will  be  unhappy  women." 

The  bloodhounds  of  the  law  heard  this  warning 
with  indifference,  for  they  expected  succour  of  some 
sort,  though  they  hardly  knew  of  what  sort,  from  the 
man-of-war's  boat,  which,  it  was  now  plain  enough, 
must  weather  on  the  ship.  After  putting  their  heads 
together,  Mr.  Seal  offered  his  companion  a  pinch  of 
snuff,  helping  himself  afterwards,  like  a  man  indiffer 
ent  to  the  result,  and  one  patient  in  time  of  duty.  The 
sun-burnt  face  of  the  captain,  whose  standing  colour 
was  that  which  cooks  get  when  the  fire  burns  the 
brightest,  but  whose  hues  no  fire  or  cold  ever  varied, 
was  turned  fully  on  the  two,  and  it  is  probable  they 
would  have  received  some  decided  manifestation  %f 
his  will,  had  not  Sir  George  Templemore,  with  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUXD.  59 

four  other  committee-men,  approached  to  give  in  the 
result  of  this  conference. 

"  We  are  of  opinion,  Captain  Truck,"  said  the  baro 
net,  "  that  as  the  ship  is  under  way,  and  your  voyage 
may  be  fairly  said  to  have  commenced,  it  is  quite  in 
expedient  and  altogether  unnecessary  for  you  to  an 
chor  again ;  but  that  it  is  your  duty — " 

"  I  have  no  occasion  for  advice  as  to  my  duty,  gen 
tlemen.  If  you  can  let  me  know  what  Vattel  says, 
or  ought  to  have  said,  on  the  subject,  or  touching  the 
category  of  the  right  of  search,  except  as  a  belliger 
ent  right,  I  will  thank  you  ;  if  not,  we  must  e'en  guess 
at  it.  I  have  not  sailed  a  ship  in  this  trade  these  ten 
years  to  need  any  jogging  of  the  memory  about  port- 
jurisdiction  either,  for  these  are  matters  in  which  one 
gets  to  be  expert  by  dint  of  use,  as  my  old  master 
used  to  say  when  he  called  us  from  table  with  half  a 
dinner.  Now,  there  was  the  case  of  the  blacks  in 
Charleston,  in  which  our  government  showed  clearly 
it  had  not  studied  Vattel,  or  it  never  would  have 
given  the  answer  it  did.  Perhaps  you  never  heard 
that  case,  Sir  George,  and  as  it  touches  a  delicate 
principle,  I  will  just  run  over  the  category  lightly ; 
for  it  has  its  points,  as  well  as  a  coast." 

"  Does  not  this  matter  press, — may  not  the  boat — " 

"  The  boat  will  do  nothing,  gentlemen,  without  the 
permission  of  Jack  Truck.  You  must  know,  the  Caro 
linians  have  a  law  that  all  niggers  brought  into  their 
state  by  ships,  must  be  caged  until  the  vessel  sails 
again.  This  is  to  prevent  emancipation,  as  they  call 
it,  or  abolition,  I  know  not  which.  An  Englishman 
comes  in  from  the  islands  with  a  crew  of  blacks,  and, 
according  to  law,  the  authorities  of  Charleston  house 
them  all  before  night.  John  Bull  complains  to  his 
minister,  and  his  minister  sends  a  note  to  our  secre 
tary,  and  our  secretary  writes  to  the  Governor  of  Ca 
rolina,  calling  on  him  to  respect  the  treaty,  and  so 


60  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

on.  Gentlemen,  I  need  not  tell  you  what  a  treaty  is 
— it  is  a  thing  in  itself  to  be'obeyed;  but  it  is  all  im 
portant  to  know  what  it  commands.  Well,  what  was 
this  said  treaty?  That  John  should  come  in  and  out 
of  the  ports,  on  the  footing  of  the  most  favoured  na 
tion;  on  the  statu  quo  ante  bellum  principle,  as  Vattel 
has  it.  Now,  the  Carolinians  treated  John  just  as 
they  treated  Jonathan,  and  there  was  no  more  to  be 
said.  All  parties  were  bound  to  enter  the  port,  sub 
ject  to  the  municipals,  as  is  set  forth  in  Vattel.  That 
was  a  case  soon  settled,  you  perceive,  though  depend 
ing  on  a  nicety." 

Sir  George  had  listened  with  extreme  impatience, 
but,  fearful  of  offending,  he  listened  to  the  end;  then, 
seizing  the  first 'pause  in  the  captain's  discourse,  he 
resumed  his  remonstrances  with  an  interest  that  did 
infinite  credit  to  his  humanity,  at  the  same  time  that 
he  overlooked  none  of  the  obligations  of  politeness. 

"  An  exceedingly  clear  case,  I  protest,"  he  answer 
ed,  "  and  capitally  put — I  question  if  Lord  Stowell 
could  do  it  better — and  exceedingly  apt,  that  about 
the  ante  bellum;  but  1  confess  my  feelings  have  not 
been  so  much  aroused  for  a  long  time  as  they  have 
been  on  account  of  these  poor  people.  There  is 
something  inexpressibly  painful  in  being  disappointed 
as  one  is  setting  out  in  the  morning  of  life,  as  it  were, 
in  this  cruel  manner ;  and  rather  than  see  this  state 
of  things  protracted,  I  would  prefer  paying  a  trifle 
out  of  my  own  pocket.  If  this  wretched  attorney 
will  consent,  now,  to  take  a  hundred  pounds  and  quit 
us,  and  carry  back  with  him  that  annoying  cutter 
with  the  lug-sails,  I  will  give  him  the  money  most 
cheerfully, — most  cheerfully,  I  protest." 

There  is  something  so  essentially  respectable  in 
practical  generosity,  that,  though  Eve  and  all  'the 
curious  auditors  of  what  was  passing  felt  an  inclina 
tion  to  laugh  at  the  whole  procedure  up  to  this  de- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  61 

claration,  eye  met  eye  in  commendation  of  the 
liberality  of  the  baronet.  He  had  shown  he  had  a 
heart,  in  the  opinion  of  most  of  those  who  heard 
him,  though  his  previous  conversation  had  led  seve 
ral  of  the  observers  to  distrust  his  having  the  usual 
quantum  of  head. 

"  Give  yourself  no  trouble  about  the  attorney,  Sir 
George,"  returned  the  captain,  shaking  the  other 
cordially  by  the  hand  ;  "  he  shall  not  touch  a  pound 
of  your  money,  nor  do  I  think  he  is  likely  to  touch 
this  Robert  Davis.  We  have  caught  the  tide  on  our 
lee  bow,  and  the  current  is  wheeling  us  up  to  wind 
ward,  like  an  opposition  coach  flying  over  Black- 
heath.  In  a  few  minutes  we  shall  be  in  blue  water; 
and  then  I'll  give  the  rascal  a  touch  of  Vattel  that 
will  throw  him  all  aback,  if  it  don't  throw  him  over 
board." 

"But  the  cutter?" 

"Why,  if  we  drive  the  attorney  and  Grab  out  of 
the  ship,  there  will  be  no  process  in  the  hands  of  the 
others,  by  which  they  can  carry  off  the  man,  even 
admitting  the  jurisdiction.  I  know  the  scoundrels, 
and  not  a  shilling  shall  either  of  the  knaves  take  from 
this  vessel  with  my  consent.  Harkee,  Sir  George,  a 

word  in  your  ear :  two  of  as  d d  cockroaches  as 

ever  rummaged  a  ship's  bread-room ;  I'll  see  that 
they  soon  heave  about,  or  I'll  heave  them  both  into 
their  boat,  with  my  own  fair  hands." 

The  captain  was  about  to  turn  away  to  examine 
the  position  of  the  cutter,  when  Mr.  Dodge  asked 
permission  to  make  a  short  report  in  behalf  of  the 
minority  of  the  comity  (committee),  the  amount  of 
which  was,  that  they  agreed  in  all  things  with  the 
majority,  except  on  the  point  that,  as  it  might  be 
come  expedient  for  the  ship  to  anchor  again  in  some 
of  the  ports  lower  down  the  Channel,  it  would  be 
\vise  to  keep  that  material  circumstance  in  view,  in 

VOL.  i,  0 


62  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

making  up  a  final  decision  in  the  affair.  This  report 
on  the  part  of  the  minority,  which,  Mr.  Dodge  ex 
plained  to  the  baronet,  partook  rather  of  the  charac 
ter  of  a  caution  than  of  a  protest,  had  quite  as  little 
influence  on  Captain  Truck  as  the  opinion  of  the 
majority,  for  he  was  just  one  of  those  persons  who 
seldom  took  advice  that  did  not  conform  with  his 
own  previous  decision;  but  he  coolly  continued  to 
examine  the  cutter,  which  by  this  time  was  standing 
on  the  same  course  as  the  ship,  a  short  distance  to 
windward  of  her,  and  edging  a  little  off  the  wind, 
so  as  to  bring  the  two  nearer  to  each  other,  every 
yard  they  advanced. 

The  wind  had  freshened  to  a  little  breeze,  and  the 
captain  nodded  his  head  with  satisfaction  when  he 
heard,  even  where  he  stood  on  the  quarter-deck,  the 
slapping  of  the  sluggish  swell,  as  the  huge  bows  of 
the  ship  parted  the  water.  At  this  moment  those  in 
the  cutter  saw  the  bubbles  glide  swiftly  pass  them, 
while  to  those  in  the  Montauk  the  motion  was  still 
slow  and  heavy ;  and  yet,  of  the  two,  the  actual  ve 
locity  was  rather  in  favour  of  the  latter,  both  having 
about  what  is  technically  termed  "  four-knot  way" 
on  them.  The  officer  of  the  boat  was  quick  to  de 
tect  the  change  that  was  acting  against  him,  and  by 
easing  the  sheets  of  his  lug-sails,  and  keeping  the 
cutter  as  much  off  the  wind  as  he  could,  he  was  soon 
within  a  hundred  feet  of  the  ship,  running  along  on 
her  weather-beam.  The  bright  soft  moonlight  per 
mitted  the  face  of  a  young  man  in  a  man-of-war 
cap,  who  wore  the  undress  uniform  of  a  sea-lieuten 
ant,  to  be  distinctly  seen,  as  he  rose  in  the  stern- 
sheets,  which  contained  also  two  other  persons. 

"  I  will  thank  you  to  heave-to  the  Montauk,"  said 
the  lieutenant  civilly,  while  he  raised  his  cap,  appa 
rently  in  compliment  to  the  passengers  who  crowded 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  63 

the  rail  to  see  and  hear  what  passed.     " 1  am  sent 
on  the  duty  of  the  king,  sir." 

"  I  know  your  errand,  sir,'*  returned  Captain 
Truck,  whose  resolution  to  refuse  to  comply  was  a 
good  deal  shaken  by  the  gentleman-like  manner  in 
which  the  request  was  made ;  "  and  I  wish  you  to 
bear  witness,  that  if  I  do  consent  to  your  request,  it 
is  voluntarily;  for,  on  the  principles  laid  down  by 
Vattel  and  the  other  writers  on  international  law, 
the  right  of  search  is  a  belligerent  right,  and  England 
being  at  peace,  no  ship  belonging  to  one  nation  can 
have  a  right  to  stop  a  vessel  belonging  to  another." 

"  I  cannot  enter  into  these  niceties,  sir,"  returned 
the  lieutenant,  sharply :  "  I  have  my  orders,  and  you 
will  excuse  me  if  I  say,  I  intend  to  execute  them." 

"  Execute  them,  with  all  my  heart,  sir:  if  you  are 
ordered  to  heave-to  my  ship,  all  you  have  to  do  is  to 
get  on  board  if  you  can,  and  let  us  see  the  style  in 
which  you  handle  yards.  As  to  the  people  now  sta 
tioned  at  the  braces,  the  trumpet  that  will  make  them 
stir  is  not  to  be  spoken  through  at  the  Admiralty. 
The  fellow  has  spirit  in  him,  and  I  like  his  principles 
as  an  officer,  but  I  cannot  admit  his  conclusions  as  a 
jurist.  If  he  flatters  himself  with  being  able  to 
frighten  us  into  a  new  category,  now,  that  is  likely 
to  impair  national  rights,  the  lad  has  just  got  himself 
into  a  problem  that  will  need  all  his  logic,  and  a  good 
deal  of  his  spirit,  to  get  out  of  again." 

"  You  will  scarcely  think  of  resisting  a  king's  offi 
cer  in  British  waters !"  said  the  young  man  with 
that  haughtiness  that  the  meekest  tempers  soon  learn 
to  acquire  under  a  pennant. 

"  Resisting,  my  dear  sir !  1  resist  nothing.  The 
misconception  is  in  supposing  that  you  sail  this  ship 
instead  of  John  Truck.  That  is  my  name,  sir;  John 
Truck.  Do  your  errand  in  welcome,  but  do  not  ask 
me  to  help  you.  Come  aboard,  with  all  my  heart ; 


64  IJOMEWARD    BOUKD. 

nothing  would  give  me  more  pleasure  than  to  take 
wine  with  you ;  but  I  see  no  necessity  of  stopping  a 
packet,  that  is  busy  on  a  long  road,  without  an  ob 
ject,  as  we  say  on  the  other  side  of  the  big  waters." 

There  was  a  pause,  and  then  the  lieutenant,  with 
the  sort  of  hesitation  that  a  gentleman  is  apt  to  feel 
when  he  makes  a  proposal  that  he  knows  ought  not 
to  be  accepted,  called  out  that  those  in  the  boat  with 
him  would  pay  for  the  detention  of  the  ship.  A  more 
unfortunate  proposition  could  not  be  made  to  Cap 
tain  Truck,  who  would  have  hove-to  his  ship  in  a 
moment  had  the  lieutenant  proposed  to  discuss  Vattel 
with  him  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  who  was  only 
holding  out  as  a  sort  of  salvo  to  his  rights,  with  that 
disposition  to  resist  aggression  that  the  experience  of 
the  last  forty  years  has  so  deeply  implanted  in  the 
bosom  of  every  American  sailor,  in  cases  connected 
with  English  naval  officers,  and  who  had  just  made 
up  his  mind  to  let  Robert  Davis  take  his  chance,  and 
to  crack  a  bottle  with  the  handsome  young  man  who 
was  still  standing  up  in  the  boat.  But  Mr.  Truck 
had  been  too  often  to  London  not  to  understand  ex 
actly  the  manner  in  which  Englishmen  appreciate 
American  character;  and,  among  other  things,  he 
knew  it  was  the  general  opinion  in  the  island  that 
money  could  do  any  thing  with  Jonathan,  or,  as 
Christophe  is  said  once  to  have  sententiously  ex 
pressed  the  same  sentiment,  "  if  there  were  a  bag  of 
coffee  in  h — ,  a  Yankee  could  be  found  to  go  and 
bring  it  out." 

The  master  of  the  Montauk  had  a  proper  relish 
for  his  lawful  gains  as  well  as  another,  but  he  was 
vain-glorious  on  the  subject  of  his  countrymen,  prin 
cipally  because  he  found  that  the  packets  outsailed 
all  other  merchant-ships,  and  fiercely  proud  of  any 
quality  that  others  were  disposed  to  deny  them. 

At  hearing  this  proposal,  or  intimation,  therefore, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  65 

instead  of  accepting  it,  Captain  Truck  raised  his  hat 
with  formal  civility,  and  coolly  wished  the  other 
"  good  night."  This  was  bringing  the  affair  to  a 
crisis  at  once ;  for  the  helm  of  the  cutter  was  borne 
up,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  run  the  boat  along 
side  of  the  ship.  But  the  breeze  had  been  steadily 
increasing,  the  air  had  grown  heavier  as  the  night 
advanced,  and  the  dampness  of  evening,  as  usual, 
was  thickening  the  canvass  of  the  coarser  sails  in  a 
way  sensibly  to  increase  the  speed  of  the  ship.  When 
the  conversation  commenced,  the  boat  was  abreast 
of  the  fore-rigging;  and  by  the  time  it  ended,  it  was 
barely  up  with  the  mizzen.  The  lieutenant  was  quick 
to  see  the  disadvantage  he  laboured  under,  and  he 
called  out  "  Heave !"  as  he  found  the  cutter  was  fall 
ing  close  under  the  counter  of  the  ship,  and  would 
be  in  her  wake  in  another  minute.  The  bowman  of 
the  boat  cast  a  light  grapnel  with  so  much  precision 
that  it  hooked  in  the  mizzen  rigging,  and  the  line  in 
stantly  tightened  so  as  to  tow  the  cutter.  A  seaman 
was  passing  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  hurricane- 
house  at  the  moment,  coming  from  the  wheel,  and 
with  the  decision  of  an  old  salt,  he  quietly  passed  his 
knife  across  the  stretched  cordage,  and  it  snapped 
like  pack-thread.  The  grapnel  fell  into  the  sea,  and 
the  boat  was  tossing  in  the  wake  of  the  ship,  all  as  it 
might  be  while  one  could  draw  a  breath.  To  furl 
the  sails  and  ship  the  oars  consumed  but  an  instant, 
and  then  the  cutter  was  ploughing  the  water  under 
the  vigorous  strokes  of  her  crew. 

."  Spirited  !  spirited  and  nimble!"  observed  Captain 
Truck,  who  stood  coolly  leaning  against  a  shroud,  in 
a  position  where  he  could  command  a  view  of  all  that 
was  passing,  improving  the  opportunity  to  shake  the 
ashes  from  his  cigar  while  he  spoke;  "a  fine  young 
fellow,  and  one  who  will  make  an  admiral,  or  some 
thing  better,  I  dare  say,  if  he  live; — perhaps  a  cherub, 

6* 


66  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

in  time.  Now,  if  he  pull  much  longer  in  the  back 
water  of  our  wake,  I  shall  have  to  give  him  up,  Leach, 
as  a  little  marine-is/* :  ah  !  there  he  sheers  out  of  it, 
like  a  sensible  youth  as  he  is  !  Well,  there  is  some 
thing  pleasant  in  the  conceit  of  a  six-oared  boat's 
carrying  a  London  liner  by  boarding,  even  admitting 
the  lad  could  have  got  alongside." 

So,  it  would  seem,  thought  Mr.  Leach  and  the  crew 
of  the  Montauk;  for  they  kept  about  their  work  of 
clearing  the  decks  with  as  much  philosophy  as  men 
ever  discover  when  employed  in  an  unthankful  office. 
This  sang-froid  of  seamen  is  always  matter  of  sur 
prise  to  landsmen;  but  adventurers  who  have  been 
rocked  in  the  tempest  for  years,  whose  utmost  secu 
rity  is  a  hazard  to  cause  others  to  doubt,  and  whose 
safety  constantly  depends  on  the  command  of  the 
faculties,  come  in  time  to  experience  an  apathy  on 
the  subject  of  all  the  minor  terrors  and  excitements  of 
life,  that  none  can  acquire  unless  by  habit  and  simi 
lar  risks.  There  was  a  low  laugh  among  the  people, 
and  now  and  then  a  curious  glance  of  the  eye  over 
the  quarter  to  ascertain  the  position  of  the  struggling 
boat ;  but  there  the  effect  of  the  little  incident  ceased, 
so  far  as  the  seamen  were  concerned. 

Not  so  with  the  passengers.  The  Americans  ex 
ulted  at  the  failure  of  the  man-of-war's  man,  and  the 
English  doubted.  To  them,  deference  to  the  crown 
was  habitual,  and  they  were  displeased  at  seeing  a 
stranger  play  a  king's  boat  such  a  trick,  in  what  they 
justly  enough  thought  to  be  British  waters.  Although 
the  law  may  not  give  a  man  any  more  right  than  an 
another  to  the  road  before  his  own  door,  he  comes  in 
time  to  fancy  it,  in  a  certain  degree,  his  particular 
road.  Strictly  speaking,  the  Montauk  was  perhaps 
still  under  the  dominion  of  the  English  laws,  though 
she  had  been  a  league  from  the  land  when  laying  at 
her  anchor,  and  by  this  time  the  tide  and  her  own  ve- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  67 

looily  had  swept  her  broad  off  into  the  offing  quite  as 
far  again;  indeed  she  had  now  got  to  such  a  distance 
from  the  land,  that  Captain  Truck  thought  it  his 
"  duty"  to  bring  matters  to  a  conclusion  with  the  at 
torney. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Seal,"  he  said,  "  I  am  grateful  for  the 
pleasure  of  your  company  thus  far;  but  you  will  ex 
cuse  me  if  Tdecline  taking  you  and  Mr.  Grab  quite  to 
America.  Half  an  hour  hence  you  will  hardly  be 
able  to  find  the  island  ;  for  as  soon  as  we  have  got  to 
a  proper  distance  from  the  cutter,  I  shall  tack  to  the 
south-west,  and  you  ought,  moreover,  to  remember 
the  anxiety  of  the  ladies  at  home." 

"  This  may  turn  out  a  serious  matter,  Captain 
Truck,  on  your  return  passage  !  The  laws  of  Eng 
land  are  not  to  be  trifled  with.  Will  you  oblige  me 
by  ordering  the  steward  to  hand  me  a  glass  of  water? 
Waiting  for  justice  is  dry  duty,  1  find." 

"Extremely  sorry  I  cannot  comply,  gentlemen. 
Vattel  has  nothing  on  the  subject  of  watering  belli 
gerents,  or  neutrals,  and  the  laws  of  Congress  com 
pel  me  to  carry  so  many  gallons  to  the  man.  If  you 
will  take  it  in  the  way  of  a  nightcap,  however,  and 
drink  success  to  our  run  to  America,  and  your  own 
to  the  shore,  it  shall  be  in  champagne,  if  you  happen 
to  like  that  agreeable  fluid." 

The  attorney  was  about  to  express  his  readiness  to 
compromise  on  these  terms,  when  a  glass  of  the 
beverage  for  which  he  had  first  asked  was  put  into 
his  hand  by  the  wife  of  Robert  Davis.  He  took  the 
water,  drank  it,  a.nd  turned  from  the  woman  with  the 
obduracy  of  one  who  never  suffered  feeling  to  divert 
him  from  the  pursuit  of  gain.  The  wine  wras  brought, 
and  the  captain  filled  the  glasses  with  a  seaman's 
heartiness. 

"  I  drink  to  your  safe  return  to  Mrs.  Seal,  and  the 
little  gods  and  goddesses  of  justice, — Pan  or  Mercury, 


68  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

which  is  it?  And  as  for  you,  Grab,  look  out  for 
sharks  as  you  pull  in.  If  they  hear  of  your  being 
afloat,  the  souls  of  persecuted  sailors  will  set  them  on 
you,  as  the  devil  chases  male  coquettes.  Well,  gen 
tlemen,  you  are  balked  this  time ;  but  what  matters 
it?  It  is  but  another  man  got  safe  out  of  a  country 
that  has  too  many  in  it;  and  1  trust  we  shall  meet 
good  friends  again  this  day  four  months.  Even  man 
and  wife  must  part,  when  the  hour  arrives." 

"  That  will  depend  on  how  my  client  views  your 
conduct  on  this  occasion,  Captain  Truck;  for  lie  is 
not  a  man  that  it  is  always  safe  to  thwart." 

"That  for  your  client,  Mr.  Seal?"  returned  the 
captain,  snapping  his  fingers.  "  I  am  not  to  be  fright 
ened  with  an  attorney's  growl,  or  a  bailiff's  nod. 
You  come  off  with  a  writ  or  a  warrant,  I  care  not 
which ;  I  offer  no  resistance;  you  hunt  for  your  man, 
like  a  terrier  looking  for  a  rat,  and  can't  find  him ;  I 
see  the  fine  fellow,  at  this  moment,  on  deck, — but  I 
feel  no  obligation  to  tell  you  who  or  where  he  is;  my 
ship  is  cleared  and  I  sail,  and  you  have  no  power  to 
stop  me;  we  are  outside  of  all  the  head-lands,  good 
two  leagues  and  a  half  off,  and  some  writers  say  that 
a  gun-shot  is  the  extent  of  your  jurisdiction,  once  out 
of  which,  your  authority  is  not  worth  half  as  much 
as  that  of  my  chief  cook,  who  has  power  to  make  his 
mate  clean  the  coppers.  Well,  sir,  you  stay  here  ten 
minutes  longer  and  we  shall  be  fully  three  leagues 
from  your  nearest  land,  and  then  you  are  in  America, 
according  to  law,  and  a  quick  passage  you  will  have 
made  of  it.  Now,  that  is  what  I  call  a  category." 

As  the  captain  made  this  last  remark,  his  quick  eye 
saw  that  the  wind  had  hauled  so  far  round  to  the  west 
ward,  as  to  supersede  the  necessity  of  tacking,  and 
that  they  were  actually  going  eight  knots  in  a  direct 
line  from  Portsmouth.  Casting  an  eye  behind  him, 
he  perceived  that  the  cutter  had  given  up  the  chase, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  69 

and  was  returning  towards  the  distant  roads.  Under 
circumstances  so  discouraging,  the  attorney,  who  be 
gan  to  be  alarmed  for  his  boat,  which  was  flying 
along  on  the  water,  towed  by  the  ship,  prepared  to 
take  his  leave ;  for  he  was  fully  aware  that  he  had 
no  power  to  compel  the  other  to  heave-to  his  ship,  to 
enable  him  to  get  out  of  her.  Luckily  the  water  was 
still  tolerably  smooth,  and  with  fear  and  trembling, 
Mr.  Seal  succeeded  in  blundering  into  the  boat;  not, 
however,  until  the  watermen  had  warned  him  of  their 
intention  to  hold  on  no  longer.  Mr.  Grab  followed, 
with  a  good  deal  of  difficulty,  and  just  as  a  hand  was 
about  to  let  go  the  painter,  the  captain  appeared  at 
the  gangway  with  the  man  they  were  in  quest  of,  and 
said  in  his  most  winning  manner — 

"Mr.  Grab,  Mr.  Davis;  Mr.  Davis,  Mr.  Grab;  I 
seldom  introduce  steerage  passengers,  but  to  oblige 
two  old  friends  I  break  the  rule.  That's  what  I  call 
a  category.  My  compliments  to  Mrs.  Grab.  Let 
go  the  painter." 

The  words  were  no  sooner  uttered  than  the  boat 
was  tossing  and  whirling  in  the  caldron  left  by  the 
passing  ship. 


CHAPTER  V. 

What  country,  friends,  is  this  ? 
l%ria,  lady. 

Twelfth  Night. 

CAPTAIN  TRUCK  cast  an  eye  aloft  to  see  if  every 
thing  drew,  as  coolly  as  if  nothing  out  of  the  usual 
course  had  happened;  he  and  his  crew  having,  seem 
ingly,  regarded  the  attempt  to  board  them  as  men  re 
gard  the  natural  phenomena  of  the  planets,  or  in  other 


70  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

words,  as  if  the  ship,  of  which  they  were  merely 
parts,  had  escaped  by  her  own  instinct  or  volition. 
This  habit  of  considering  the  machine  as  the  govern 
ing  principle  is  rather  general  among  seamen,  who, 
while  they  ease  a  brace,  or  drag  a  bowline,  as  the 
coachman  checks  a  rein,  appear  to  think  it  is  only 
permitting  the  creature  to  work  her  own  will  a  little 
more  freely.  It  is  true  all  know  better,  but  none  talk, 
or  indeed  would  seem  to  feel,  as  if  they  thought  other 
wise. 

"Did  you  observe  how  the  old  barky  jumped  out 
of  the  way  of  those  rovers  in  the  cutter?"  said 
the  captain  complacently  to  the  quarter-deck  group, 
when  his  survey  aloft  had  taken  sufficient  heed,  that 
his  own  nautical  skill  should  correct  the  instinct  of 
the  ship.  "  A  skittish  horse,  or  a  whale  with  the  irons 
in  him,  or,  for  that  matter,  one  of  the  funniest  of  your 
theatricals,  would  not  have  given  a  prettier  aside 
than  this  poor  old  hulk,  which  is  certainly  just  the 
clumsiest  craft  that  sails  the  ocean.  I  wish  King 
William  would  take  it  into  his  royal  head,  now,  to 
send  one  of  his  light-heeled  cruisers  out  to  prove  it, 
by  way  of  resenting  the  cantaverous  trick  the  Mon- 
tauk  played  his  boat1/' 

The  dull  report  of  a  gun,  as  the  sound  came  short 
and  deadened  up  against  the  breeze,  checked  the 
raillery  of  Mr.  Truck.  On  looking  to  leeward,  there 
was  sufficient  light  to  see  the  symmetrical  sails  of 
the  corvette  they  had  left  at  anchor,  trimmed  close 
by  the  wind,  and  the  vessel  itself  standing  out  under 
a  press  of  canvass,  apparently  in  chase.  The  gun 
had  evidently  been  fired  as  a  signal  of  recall  to  the 
cutter,  blue  lights  being  burnt  on  board  of  both  the 
ship  and  its  boat,  in  proof  that  they  were  communi 
cating. 

The  passengers  now  looked  gravely  at  each  other, 
for  the  matter,  in  their  eyes,  began  to  be  serious. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  71 

Some  suggested  the  possibility  that  the  offence  of 
Davis  might  be  other  than  debt,  but  this  was  dis 
proved  by  the  process  and  the  account  of  the  bailiff 
himself;  while  most  concluded  that  a  determination 
to  resent  the  slight  done  the  authorities  had  caused 
the  cruiser  to  follow  them  out,  with  the  intention  of 
carrying  them  back  again.  The  English  passengers 
in  particular  began  now  to  reason  in  favour  of  the 
authority  of  the  crown,  while  those  who  were  known 
to  be  Americans  grew  warm  in  maintaining  the  rights 
of  their  flag.  Both  the  Effinghams,  however,  were 
moderate  in  the  expression  of  their  opinions,  for  edu 
cation,  years,  and  experience,  had  taught  them  to  dis 
criminate  justly. 

"  As  respects  the  course  of  Captain  Truck,  in  re 
fusing  to  permit  the  cutter  to  board  him,  he  is  proba 
bly  a  better  judge  than  any  of  us,"  Mr.  Effingham 
observed  with  gentlemanly  reserve — "  for  he  must 
better  understand  the  precise  position  of  his  ship  at 
the  time;  but  concerning  the  want  of  right  in  a  for- 
reign  vessel  of  war  to  carry  this  ship  into  port  in  a 
time  of  profound  peace,  when  sailing  on  the  high 
seas,  as  will  soon  be  the  case  with  the  Montauk, — 
admitting  that  she  is  not  there  at  present, — I  should 
think  there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt.  The  dispute, 
if  there  is  to  be  any,  has  now  to  become  matter  of 
negotiation;  or  redress  must  be  sought  through  the 
general  agents  of  the  two  nations,  and  not  taken  by 
the  inferior  officers  of  either  party.  The  instant  the 
Montauk  reaches  the  public  highway  of  nations,  she 
is  within  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  country  un 
der  whose  flag  she  legally  sails/' 

"Vattel,  to  the  back  bone!"  said  the  captain,  giv 
ing  a  nod  of  approbation,  again  clearing  the  end  of 
his  cigar. 

Now,  John  Effingham  was  a  man  of  strong  feel 
ings,  which  is  often  but  another  word  for  a  man  of 


72  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

JflBL' 

strong  prejudices;  and  he  had  been  educated  between 
thirty  or  forty  years  before,  which  is  saying  virtually, 
that  he  was  educated  under  the  influence  of  the  Bri 
tish  opinions,  that  then  weighed  (and  many  of  which 
still  weigh)  like  an  incubus  on  the  national  interests 
of  America.  It  is  true,  Mr.  Effingham  was  in  all 
senses  the  contemporary,  as  he  had  been  the  school 
fellow,  of  his  cousin ;  that  they  loved  each  other  as 
brothers,  had  the  utmost  reliance  on  each  other's 
principles  in  the  main,  thought  alike  in  a  thousand 
things,  and  yet,  in  the  particular  of  English  domina 
tion,  it  was  scarcely  possible  for  one  man  to  resemble 
another  less  than  the  widowed  kinsman  resembled 
the  bachelor. 

Edward  Effingham  was  a  singularly  just-minded 
man,  and  having  succeeded  at  an  early  age  to  his 
estate,  he  had  lived  many  years  in  that  intellectual 
retirement  which,  by  withdrawing  him  from  the 
strifes  of  the  world,  had  left  a  cultivated  sagacity  to 
act  freely  on  a  natural  disposition.  At  the  period 
when  the  entire  republic  was,  in  substance,  exhibit 
ing  the  disgraceful  picture  of  a  nation  torn  by  ad 
verse  factions,  that  had  their  origin  in  interests  alien 
to  its  own;  when  most  were  either  Englishmen  or 
Frenchmen,  he  had  remained  what  nature,  the  laws 
and  reason  intended  him  to  be,  an  American.  Enjoy 
ing  the  otium  cum  dignitate  on  his  hereditary  estate, 
and  in  his  hereditary  abode,  Edward  Effingham, 
with  little  pretensions  to  greatness,  and  with  many 
claims  to  goodness,  had  hit  the  line  of  truth  which  so 
many  of  the  "  god-likes"  of  the  republic,  under  the 
influence  of  their  passions,  and  stimulated  by  the 
transient  and  fluctuating  interests  of  the  day,  entirely 
over-looked,  or  which,  if  seeing,  they  recklessly  dis 
regarded.  A  less  impracticable  subject  for  excite 
ment, — the  primum  mobile  of  all  American  patriotism 
and  activity,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  theories  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  73 

times, — could  not  be  found,  than  this  gentleman.  In 
dependence  of  situation  had  induced  independence  of 
thought:  study  arid  investigation  rendered  him  ori 
ginal  and  just,  by  simply  exempting  him  from  the 
influence  of  the  passions ;  and  while  hundreds  were 
keener,  abler  in  the  exposition  of  subtleties,  or  more 
imposing  with  the  mass,  few  were  as  often  right,  and 
none  of  less  selfishness,  than  this  simple-minded  and 
upright  gentleman.  He  loved  his  native  land,  while 
he  saw  and  regretted  its  weaknesses;  was  its  firm 
and  consistent  advocate  abroad,  without  becoming 
its  interested  or  mawkish  flatterer  at  home,  and  at  all 
times,  and  in  all  situations,  manifested  that  his  heart 
was  where  it  ought  to  be. 

In  many  essentials,  John  Effingham  was  the  con 
verse  of  all  this.  Of  an  intellect  much  more  acute 
and  vigorous  than  that  of  his  cousin,  he  also  pos 
sessed  passions  less  under  control,  a  will  more  stub 
born,  and  prejudices  that  often  neutralized  his  rea 
son.  His  father  had  inherited  most  of  the  personal 
property  of  the  family,  and  with  this  he  had  plunged 
into  the  vortex  of  moneyed  speculation  that  succeeded 
the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution,  and  verifying 
the  truth  of  the  sacred  saying,  that  "  where  the  trea 
sure  is,  there  will  the  heart  be  also,"  he  had  entered 
warmly  and  blindly  into  all  the  factious  and  irrecon 
cilable  principles  of  party,  if  such  a  word  can  pro 
perly  be  applied  to  rules  of  conduct  that  vary  with 
the  interests  of  the  day,  and  had  adopted  the  cur 
rent  errors  with  which  faction  unavoidably  poisons 
the  mind. 

America  was  then  much  too  young  in  her  inde 
pendence,  and  too  insignificant  in  all  eyes  but  her 
own,  to  reason  and  act  for  herself,  except  on  points 
that  pressed  too  obviously  on  her  immediate  con 
cerns  to  be  overlooked  ;  but  the  great  social  princi 
ples, — or  it  might  be  better  to  say,  the  great  social 

VOL.  i.  7 


74  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

interests, — that  then  distracted  Europe,  produced 
quite  as  much  sensation  in  that  distant  country,  as  at 
all  comported  with  a  state  of  things  that  had  so  little 
practical  connexion  with  the  result.  The  Effingham 
family  had  started  federalists,  in  the  true  meaning  of 
the  term ;  for  their  education,  native  sense  and  prin 
ciples,  had  a  leaning  to  order,  good  government,  and 
the  dignity  of  the  country;  but  as  factions  became 
fiercer,  and  names  got  to  be  confounded  and  contra 
dictory,  the  landed  branch  settled  down  into  what 
they  thought  were  American,  and  the  commercial 
branch  into  what  might  properly  be  termed  English 
federalists.  We  do  not  mean  that  the  father  of  John 
intended  to  be  untrue  to  his  native  land ;  but  by  fol 
lowing  up  the  dogmas  of  party  he  had  reasoned  him 
self  into  a  set  of  maxims  which,  if  they  meant  any 
thing,  meant  everything  but  that  which  had  been 
solemnly  adopted  as  the  governing  principles  of  his 
own  country,  and  many  of  which  \vere  diametrically 
opposed  to  both  its  interests  and  its  honour. 

John  Effingham  had  insensibly  imbibed  the  senti 
ments  of  his  particular  sect,  though  the  large  fortune 
inherited  from  his  father  had  left  him  too  indepen 
dent  to  pursue  the  sinuous  policy  of  trade.  He  had 
permitted  temperament  to  act  on  prejudice  to  such 
an  extent  that. he  vindicated  the  right  of  England  to 
force  men  from  under  the  American  flag,  a  doctrine 
that  his  cousin  was  too  simple-minded  and  clear 
headed  ever  to  entertain  for  an  instant:  and  he  was 
singularly  ingenious  in  discovering  blunders  in  all 
the  acts  of  the  republic,  when  they  conflicted  with 
the  policy  of  Great  Britain.  In  short,  his  talents 
were  necessary,  perhaps,  to  reconcile  so  much  so 
phistry,  or  to  render  that  reasonably  plausible  that 
was  so  fundamentally  false.  After  the  peace  of  1815, 
John  Effingham  went  abroad  for  the  second  time, 
and  he  hurried  through  England  with  the  eagerness 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  75 

of  strong  affection  ;  an  affection  that  owed  its  ex 
istence  even  more  to  opposition  than  to  settled  no 
tions  of  truth,  or  to  natural  ties.  The  result  was 
disappointment,  as  happens  nineteen  times  in  twenty, 
and  this  solely  because,  in  the  zeal  of  a  partisan,  he 
had  fancied  theories,  and  imagined  results.  Like  the 
English  radical,  who  rushes  into  America  with  a 
mind  unsettled  by  impracticable  dogmas,  he  expe 
rienced  a  reaction,  and  this  chiefly  because  he  found 
that  men  were  not  superior  to  nature,  and  discovered 
so  late  in  the  day,  what  he  might  have  known  at 
starting,  that  particular  causes  must  produce  particu 
lar  effects.  From  this  time,  John  Effingham  became 
a  wiser  and  a  more  moderate  man;  though,  as  the 
shock  had  not  been  sufficiently  violent  to  throw  him 
backward  on  truth,  or  rather  upon  the  opposing  pre 
judices  of  another  sect,  the  remains  of  the  old  notions 
were  still  to  be  discovered  lingering  in  his  opinions, 
and  throwing  a  species  of  twilight  shading  over  his 
mind;  as  in  nature  the  hues  of  evening  and  the 
shadows  of  the  morning  follow,  or  precede,  the  light 
of  the  sun. 

Under  the  influence  of  these  latent  prejudices,  then, 
John  Effingham  replied  to  the  remarks  of  his  cousin, 
and  the  discourse  soon  partook  of  the  discursive 
character  of  all  arguments,  in  which  the  parties  are 
not  singularly  clear-headed,  and  free  from  any  other 
bias  than  that  of  truth.  Nearly  all  joined  in  it,  and 
half-an-hour  was  soon  passed  in  settling  the  law  of 
nations,  and  the  particular  merits  or  demerits  of  the 
instance  before  them. 

It  was  a  lovely  night,  and  Mademoiselle  Viefville 
and  Eve  walked  the  deck  for  exercise,  the  smooth 
ness  of  the  water  rendering  the  moment  every  way 
favourable.  As  has  been  already  said,  the  common 
feeling  in  the  escape  of  the  new-married  couple  had 
broken  the  ice,  and  less  restraint  existed  between  the 


76  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

passengers,  at  the  moment  when  Mr.  Grab  left  the 
ship,  than  would  have  been  the  case  at  the  end  of  a 
week,  under  ordinary  circumstances.     Eve  Effing- 
ham  had  passed  her  time  since  her  eleventh  year 
principally  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  and  in  the 
mixed  intercourse  that  is  common  to  strangers  in 
that  part  of  the  world ;  or,  in  other  words,  equally 
without  the  severe  restraint  that  is  usually  imposed 
there  on  the  young  of  her  own  sex,  or  without  the 
extreme  license  that  is  granted  to  them  at  home. 
She  came  of  a  family  too  well  toned  to  run  into  the 
extravagant  freedoms  that  sometimes  pass  for  easy 
manners  in  America,  had  she  never  quitted  her  fa 
ther's  house  even:  but  her  associations  abroad  had 
unavoidably  imparted  greater  reserve  to  her  ordi 
nary  deportment  than  the  simplicity  of  cis-Atlantic 
usages   would  have   rendered   indispensable  in  the 
most  fastidious  circles.     With  the  usual  womanly 
reserves,  she  was  natural  and  unembarrassed  in  her 
intercourse  with  the  world,  and  she  had  been  allow 
ed  to  see  so  many  different  nations,  that  she  had  ob 
tained  a  self-confidence  that  did  her  no  injury,  under 
the  influence  of  an  exemplary  education,  and  great 
natural  dignity  of  mind.     Still,  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville,  notwithstanding  she  had  lost  some  of  her  own 
peculiar  notions  on  the  subject,  by  having  passed  so 
many  years  in  an  American  family,  was  a  little  sur 
prised  at  observing  that  Eve  received  the  respectful 
advances  of  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt  with  less  re 
serve  than  it  was  usual  to  her  to  manifest  to  an  en 
tire  stranger.     Instead  of  remaining  a  mere  listener, 
she  had  answered  several  remarks  of  the  first,  and 
once  or  twice  she  had  even  laughed  with  him  openly 
at  some  absurdity  of  the  committee  of  five.     The 
cautious  governess  wondered,  but  half  disposed  to 
fancy  that  there  was  no  more  than  the  necessary 
freedom  of  a  ship  in  it  all, — for,  like  a  true  French- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  77 

woman,  Mademoiselle  Viefville  had  very  vague  no 
tions  of  the  secrets  of  the  mighty  deep — she  per 
mitted  it  to  pass,  confiding  in  the  long-tried  taste 
and  discretion  of  her  charge.  While  Mr.  Sharp 
discoursed  with  Eve,  who  held  her  arm  the  while, 
she  herself  had  fallen  into  an  animated  conversation 
with  Mr.  Blunt,  who  walked  at  her  side,  and  who 
spoke  her  own  language  so  well,  that  she  at  first  set 
him  down  as  a  countryman,  travelling  under  an  Eng 
lish  appellation  as  a  nom  de  guerre.  While  this  dia 
logue  was  at  its  height  of  interest — for  Paul  Blunt 
discoursed  with  his  companion  aptly  on  Paris  and 
its  excellences  with  a  skill  that  soon  absorbed  all  her 
attention,  "  Paris,  ce  magnifique  Paris"  having  al 
most  as  much  influence  on  the  happiness  of  the  go 
verness,  as  it  was  said  to  have  had  on  that  of 
Madame  de  Stael; — Eve's  companion  dropped  his 
voice  to  a  tone  that  was  rather  confidential  for  a 
stranger,  although  it  was  perfectly  respectful,  and 
said, — 

"  I  have  flattered  myself,  perhaps  through  the  in 
fluence  of  self-love  alone,  that  Miss  Effingham  has 
not  so  far  forgotten  all  whom  she  has  met  in  her 
travels  as  to  think  me  an  utter  stranger." 

"  Certainly  not,"  returned  Eve,  with  perfect  sim 
plicity  and  composure ;  "  else  would  one  of  my 
faculties,  that  of  memory,  be  perfectly  useless.  I 
knew  you  at  a  glance,  and  consider  the  worthy  cap 
tain's  introduction  as  so  much  finesse  of  breeding 
utterly  thrown  away." 

"  I  am  equally  gratified  and  vexed  at  all  this;  gra 
tified  and  infinitely  flattered  to  find  that  I  have  not 
passed  before  your  eyes  like  the"  common  herd,  who 
leave  no  traces  of  even  their  features  behind  them ; 
and  vexed  at  finding  myself  in  a  situation  that,  I 
fear,  you  fancy  excessively  ridiculous?' 

"  Oh,  one  hardly  dare  to  attach  such  consequences 
7* 


78  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

to  acts  of  young  men,  or  young  women  either,  in  an 
age  as  original  as  our  own.  I  saw  nothing  particu 
larly  absurd  but  the  introduction; — arid  so  many 
absurder  have  since  passed,  that  this  is  almost  for 
gotten." 

"  And  the  name — ?" 

"  — Is  certainly  a  keen  one.  If  I  am  not  mistaken, 
when  we  were  in  Italy  you  were  content  to  let  your 
servant  bear  it;  but,  venturing  among  a  people  so 
noted  for  sagacity  as  the  Yankees,  I  suppose  you 
have  fancied  it  was  necessary  to  go  armed  cap-ti- 
pit? 

Both  laughed  lightly,  as  if  they  equally  enjoyed 
the  pleasantry,  and  then  he  resumed : 

"  But  I  sincerely  hope  you  do  not  impute  improper 
motives  to  the  incognito?" 

"I  impute  it  to  that  which  makes  many  young 
men  run  from  Rome  to  Vienna,  or  from  Vienna  to 
Paris;  which  causes  you  to  sell  the  vis-d-vis  to  buy 
a  dormeuse;  to  know  your  friends  to-day,  and  to  for 
get  them  to-morrow;  or,  in  short,  to  do  a  hundred 
other  things  that  can  be  accounted  for  on  no  other 
motive." 

"  And  this  motive — ?" 

"  — Is  simply  caprice." 

"  I  wish  I  could  persuade  you  to  ascribe  some 
better  reason  to  all  my  conduct.  Can  you  think  of 
nothing,  in  the  present  instance,  less  discreditable?" 

"  Perhaps  I  can,"  Eve  answered,  after  a  moment 
of  thought;  then  laughing  slightly  again,  she  added, 
quickly,  "  But  I  fear,  in  exonerating  you  from  the 
charge  of  unmitigated  caprice,  I  shall  ascribe  a  rea 
son  that  does  little  less  credit  to  your  knowledge." 

"  This  will  appear  in  the  end.  Does  Mademoiselle 
Viefville  remember  me,  do  you  fancy  ?" 

"  It  is  impossible  ;  she  was  ill,  you  will  remember, 
the  three  months  we  saw  so  much  of  you." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  79 

"  And  your  father,  Miss  Effingham ; — am  I  really 
forgotten  by  him?'* 

"  I  am  quite  certain  you  are  not.  He  never  for 
gets  a  face,  whatever  in  this  instance  may  have  be 
fallen  the  name." 

"  He  received  me  so  coldly,  and  so  much  like  a 
total  stranger !" 

"  He  is  too  well-bred  to  recognise  a  man  who 
wishes  to  be  unknown,  or  to  indulge  in  exclamations 
of  surprise,  or  in  dramatic  starts.  He  is  more  stable 
than  a  girl,  moreover,  and  may  feel  less  indulgence 
to  caprice." 

"  I  feel  obliged  to  his  reserve ;  for  exposure  would 
be  ridiculous,  and  so  long  as  you  and  he  alone  know 
me,  I  shall  feel  less  awkward  in  the  ship.     I  am  cer 
tain  neither  will  betray  me." 
"  Betray !" 

"  Betray,  discover,  annihilate  me  if  you  will.  Any 
thing  is  preferable  to  ridicule." 

"This  touches  a  little  on  the  caprice;  but  you 
flatter  yourself  with  too  much  security;  you  are 
known  to  one  more  besides  my  father,  myself,  and 
the  honest  man  whom  you  have  robbed  of  all  his 
astuteness,  which  I  believe  was  in  his  name." 
"  For  pity's  sake,  who  can  it  be?" 
"  The  worthy  Nanny  Sidley,  my  whilom  nurse, 
and  actual  femme  de  chambre.  No  ogre  was  ever 
more  vigilant  on  his  ward  than  the  faithful  Nanny, 
and  it  is  vain  to  suppose  she  does  not  recall  your 
features." 

"  But  ogres  sometimes  sleep ;  recollect  how  many 
have  been  overcome  in  that  situation." 

Eve  smiled,  but  shook  her  head.  She  was  about  to 
assure  Mr.  Sharp  of  the  vanity  of  his  belief,  when 
an  exclamation  from  her  governess  diverted  the  at 
tention  of  both,  and  before  either  had  time  to  speak 


80  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

again,  Mademoiselle  Viefville  turned  lo  them,  and 
said  rapidly  in  French — 

"  I  assure  you,  ma  chere,  I  should  have  mistaken 
monsieur  for  a  countryman  by  his  language,  were  it 
not  for  a  single  heinous  fault  that  he  has  just  com 
mitted/' 

"  Which  fault  you  will  suffer  me  to  inquire  into, 
that  I  may  hasten  to  correct  it?"  asked  Mr.  Blunt. 

"  Mais,  monsieur,  you  speak  too  perfectly,  too 
grammatically,  for  a  native.  You  do  not  take  the 
liberties  witji  the  language  that  one  who  feels  he 
owns  it  thinks  he  has  a  right  to  do.  It  is  the  fault  of 
too  much  correctness/' 

"  And  a  fault  it  easily  becomes.  I  thank  you  for 
the  hint,  mademoiselle ;  but  as  I  am  now  going 
where  little  French  will  be  heard,  it  is  probable  it 
will  soon  be  lost  in  greater  mistakes." 

The  two  then  turned  away  again,  and  continued 
the  dialogue  that  had  been  interrupted  by  this  tri 
fling. 

"There  may  also  be  one  more  to  whom  you  are 
known,"  continued  Eve,  as  soon  as  the  vivacity  of 
the  discourse  of  the  others  satisfied  her  the  remark 
would  not  be  heard. 

"  Surely,  you  cannot  mean  him" 

4<  Surely,  I  do  mean  him.  Are  you  quite  certain 
that  '  Mr.  Sharp,  Mr.  Blunt ;  Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Sharp,' 
never  saw  each  other  before  ?" 

"  I  think  not  until  the  moment  we  entered  the  boat 
in  company.  He  is  a  gentlemanly  young  man;  he 
seems  even  to  be  more,  and  one  would  not  be  apt  to 
forget  him.  He  is  altogether  superior  to  the  rest  of 
the  set :  do  you  not  agree  with  me  ?" 

Eve  made  no  answer,  probably  because  she 
thought  her  companion  was  not  sufficiently  intimate 
to  interrogate  her  on  the  subject  of  her  opinions  of 
others.  Mr.  Sharp  had  too  much  knowledge  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  81 

world  not  to  perceive  the  little  mistake  he  had  made, 
and  after  begging  the  young  lady,  with  a  ludicrous 
deprecation  of  her  mercy,  not  to  betray  him,  he 
changed  the  conversation  with  the  tact  of  a  man 
who  saw  that  the  discourse  could  not  be  continued 
without  assuming  an  air  of  a  confidential  character 
that  Eve  was  indisposed  to  permit.  Luckily,  a  pause 
in  the  discourse  between  the  governess  and  her  col- 
loquist  permitted  a  happy  turn  to  the  conversation. 

"  I  believe  you  are  an  American,  Mr.  Blunt,"  he 
remarked  ;  "  and  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  we  may 
be  fairly  pitted  against  each  other  on  this  important 
question  of  international  law,  and  about  which  I  hear 
our  worthy  captain  flourishing  extracts  from  Vattel 
as  familiarly  as  household  terms.  I  hope,  at  least, 
you  agree  with  me  in  thinking  that  when  the  sloop- 
of-war  comes  up  with  us,  it  will  be  very  silly  on  our 
part  to  make  any  objections  to  being  boarded  by 
her?" 

"  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  at  all  necessary  I  should 
be  an  American  to  give  an  opinion  on  such  a  point," 
returned  the  young  man  he  addressed,  courteously, 
though  he  smiled  to  himself  as  he  answered — "  For 
what  is  right,  is  right,  quite  independent  of  nations, 
or  of  nationality.  It  really  does  appear  to  me  that 
a  public-armed  vessel  ought  to  have,  in  war  or  peace, 
a  right  to  ascertain  the  character  of  all  merchant- 
ships,  at  least  on  the  coast  of  the  country  to  which 
the  cruisers  belong.  Without  this  power,  it  is  not 
easy  to  see  in  what  manner  they  can  seize  smugglers, 
capture  pirates,  or  otherwise  enforce  the  objects  for 
which  such  vessels  are  usually  sent  to  sea,  in  the 
absence  of  positive  hostilities." 

"  I  am  happy  to  find  you  agreeing  with  me,  then, 
in  the  legality  of  the  doctrine  of  the  right  of  search." 

Paul  Blunt  again  smiled,  and  Eve,  as  she  caught 
a  glimpse  of  his  fine  countenance  in  turning  their 


82  HOMEWARD    BOUIVD. 

short  walk,  fancied  there  was  a  concealed  pride  of 
reason  in  the  expression.  Still  he  answered  as  mild 
ly  and  quietly  as  before. 

"  The  right  of  search,  certainly,  to  attain  these 
ends,  but  to  attain  no  more.  If  nations  denounce 
piracy,  for  instance,  and  employ  especial  agents  to 
detect  and  overcome  the  freebooters,  there  is  reason 
in  according  to  these  agents  all  the  rights  that  are 
requisite  to  the  discharge  of  the  duties:  but,  in  con 
ceding  this  much,  I  do  not  see  that  any  authority  is 
acquired  beyond  that  which  immediately  belongs  to 
the  particular  service  to  be  performed.  If  we  give  a 
man  permission  to  enter  our  house  to  look  for  thieves, 
it  does  not  follow  that,  because  so  admitted,  he  has 
a  right  to  exercise  any  other  function.  I  do  believe 
that  the  ship  in  chase  of  us,  as  a  public  cruiser,  ought 
to  be  allowed  to  board  this  vessel ;  but  finding  no 
thing  contrary  to  the  laws  of  nations  about  her,  that 
she  will  have  no  power  to  detain  or  otherwise  molest 
her.  Even  the  right  I  concede  ought  to  be  exercised 
in  good  faith,  and  without  vexatious  abuses." 

"  But,  surely,  you  must  think  that  in  carrying  off 
a  refugee  from  justice  we  have  placed  ourselves  in 
the  wrong,  and  cannot  object,  as  a  principle,  to  the 
poor  man's  being  taken  back  again  into  the  country 
from  which  he  has  escaped,  however  much  we  may 
pity  the  hardships  of  the  particular  case?" 

"  I  much  question  if  Captain  Truck  will  be  dis 
posed  to  reason  so  vaguely.  In  the  first  place,  he 
will  be  apt  to  say  that  his  ship  was  regularly  cleared, 
and  that  he  had  authority  to  sail ;  that  in  permitting 
the  officer  to  search  his  vessel,  while  in  British 
waters,  he  did  all  that  could  be  required  of  him,  the 
law  not  compelling  him  to  be  either  a  bailiff  or  an 
informer;  that  the  process  issued  was  to  take  Davis, 
and  not  to  detain  the  Montauk;  that,  once  out  of 
British  waters,  American  law  governs,  and  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  83 

English  functionary  became  an  intruder  of  whom  he 
had  every  right  to  rid  himself,  and  that  the  process 
by  which  he  got  his  power  to  act  at  all  became  im 
potent  the  instant  it  was  without  the  jurisdiction  un 
der  which  it  was  granted." 

"  I  think  you  will  find  the  captain  of  yonder  cruiser 
indisposed  to  admit  this  doctrine." 

"  That  is  not  impossible ;  rnen  often  preferring 
abuses  to  being  thwarted  in  their  wishes.  But  the 
captain  of  yonder  cruiser  might  as  well  go  on  board 
a  foreign  vessel  of  war,  and  pretend  to  a  right  to 
command  her,  in  virtue  of  the  commission  by  which 
he  commands  his  own  ship,  as  to  pretend  to  find  rea 
son  or  law  in  doing  what  you  seem  to  predict." 

"  I  rejoice  to  hear  that  the  poor  man  cannot  now 
be  torn  from  his  wife  !"  exclaimed  Eve. 

"  You  then  incline  to  the  doctrine  of  Mr.  Blunt, 
Miss  Effingham?"  observed  the  other  controver 
sialist  a  little  reproachfully.  "  I  fear  you  make  it  a 
national  question." 

"  Perhaps  I  have  done  what  all  seem  to  have  done, 
permitted  sympathy  to  get  the  better  of  reason.  And 
yet  it  would  require  strong  proof  to  persuade  me  that 
villanous-looking  attorney  was  engaged  in  a  good 
cause,  and  that  meek  an'd  warm-hearted  wife  in  a 
bad  one !" 

Both  the  gentlemen  smiled,  and  both  turned  to  the 
fair  speaker,  as  if  inviting  her  to  proceed.  But  Eve 
had  checked  herself,  having  already  said  more  than 
became  her,  in  her  own  opinion. 

"  I  had  hoped  to  find  an  ally  in  you,  Mr.  Blunt,  to 
sustain  the  claim  of  England  to  seize  her  own  sea 
men  when  found  on  board  of  vessels  of  another  na 
tion,"  resumed  Mr.  Sharp,  when  a  respectful  pause 
had  shown  both  the  young  men  that  they  need  expect 
nothing  more  from  their  fair  companion ;  "  but  I 
fear  1  must  set  you  down  as  belonging  to  those  who 


84  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

\vish  to  see  the  power  of  England  reduced,  coute  qui 
coute." 

This  was  received  as  it  was  meant,  or  as  a  real 
opinion  veiled  under  pleasantry. 

"  I  certainly  do  not  wish  to  see  her  power  maintain 
ed,  coute  qui  coute"  returned  the  other,  laughing ; 
"and  in  this  opinion,  I  believe,  I  may  claim  both  these 
ladies  as  allies." 

"  Certainement  /"  exclaimed  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville,  who  was  a  living  proof  that  the  feelings  created 
by  centuries  of  animosity  are  not  to  be  subdued  by  a 
few  flourishes  of  the  pen. 

"  As  for  me,  Mr.  Sharp,"  added  Eve,  "  you  may 
suppose,  being  an  American  girl,  I  cannot  subscribe 
to  the  right  of  any  country  to  do  us  injustice ;  but  I 
beg  you  will  not  include  me  among  those  who  wish 
to  see  the  land  of  my  ancestors  wronged,  in  aught  that 
she  may  rightfully  claim  as  her  due." 

"  This  is  powerful  support,  and  I  shall  rally  to  the 
rescue.  Seriously,  then,  will  you  allow  me  to  inquire, 
sir,  if  you  think  the  right  of  England  to  the  services 
of  her  seamen  can  be  denied?" 

"  Seriously,  then,  Mr.  Sharp,  you  must  permit  me 
to  ask  if  you  mean  by  fprce,  or  by  reason  ?" 

"  By  the  latter,  certainly." 

"  I  think  you  have  taken  the  weak  side  of  the  Eng 
lish  argument;  the  nature  of  the  service  that  the  sub 
ject,  or  the  citizen,  as  it  is  now  the  fashion  to  say  at 
Paris,  mademoiselle — " 

"  — Tant pis"  muttered  the  governess. 

"  — Owes  his.  government,"  continued  the  young 
man,  slightly  glancing  at  Eve,  at  the  interruption, 
"  is  purely  a  point  of  internal  regulation.  In  England 
there  is  compulsory  service  for  seamen  without  re 
striction,  or  what  is  much  the  same,  without  any 
equal  protection  ;  in  France,  it  is  compulsory  service 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  85 

on  a  general  plan;  in  America,  as  respects  seamen, 
the  service  is  still  voluntary." 

"Your  pardon; — will  the  institutions  of  America 
permit  impressment  at  all?" 

"I  should  think,  not  indiscriminate  impressment; 
though  I  do  not  see  why  laws  might  not  be  enacted 
to  compel  drafts  for  the  ships  of  war,  as  well  as  for 
the  army:  but  this  is  a  point  that  some  of  the  profes 
sional  gentlemen  on  board,  if  there  be  any  such,  might 
better  answer  than  myself." 

"  The  skill  with  which  you  have  touched  on  these 
subjects  to-night,  had  made  me  hope  to  have  found 
such  a  one  in  you;  for  to  a  traveller,  it  is  always  de 
sirable  to  enter  a  country  with  a  little  preparation, 
and  a  ship  might  offer  as  much  temptation  to  teach  as 
to  learn." 

"  If  you  suppose  me  an  American  lawyer,  you  give 
me  credit  for  more  than  I  can  lay  claim  to." 

As  he  hesitated,  Eve  wondered  whether  the  slight 
emphasis  he  had  laid  on  the  two  words  we  have  Itali 
cised,  was  heaviest  on  that  which  denoted  the  coun 
try,  or  on  that  which  denoted  the  profession. 

"I  have  been  much  in  America,  and  have  paid  a 
little  attention  to  the  institutions,  but  should  be  sorry 
to  mislead  you  into  the  belief  that  I  am  at  all  infalli 
ble  on  such  points,"  Mr.  Blunt  continued. 

"  You  were  about  to  touch  on  impressment." 

"  Simply  to  say  that  it  is  a  municipal,  or  national 
power;  one  in  no  degree  dependant  on  general  prin 
ciples,  and  that  it  can  properly  be  exercised  in  no 
situation  in  which  the  exercise  of  municipal  or  na 
tional  powers  is  forbidden.  I  can  believe  that  this 
power  may  be  exercised  on  board  American  ships  in 
British  waters — or,  at  least,  that  it  is  a  more  plausible 
right  in  such  situations;  but  I  cannot  think  it  can  be 
rightfully  exercised  anywhere  else.  I  do  not  think 
England  would  submit  to  such  a  practice  an  hour, 

VOL.  i.  8 


85  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

reversing  the  case,  and  admitting  her  present  strength : 
and  an  appeal  of  this  sort  is  a  pretty  good  test  of  a 
principle." 

"  Ay,  ay,  what  is  sauce  for  the  goose  is  sauce  for 
the  gander,  as  Vattel  says,"  interrupted  Captain 
Truck,  who  had  overheard  the  last  speech  or  two: 
"  not  that  he  says  this  in  so  many  words,  but  then,  he 
has  the  sentiment  at  large  scattered  throughout  his 
writings.  For  that  matter,  there  is  little  that  can  be 
said  on  a  subject  that  he  does  not  put  before  his  read 
ers,  as  plainly  as  Beach  Head  lies  before  the  naviga 
tor  of  the  British  Channel.  With  Bowditch  and 
Vattel,  a  man  might  sail  round  the  globe,  and  little 
fear  of  a  bad  landfall,  or  a  mistake  in  principles.  My 
present  object  is  to  tell  you,  ladies,  that  the  steward 
has  reported  the  supper  in  waiting  for  the  honour  of 
your  presence." 

Before  quitting  the  deck,  the  party  inquired  into 
the  state  of  the  chase,  and  the  probable  intentions  of 
the  sloop-of-war. 

"  We  are  now  on  the  great  highway  of  nations," 
returned  Mr.  Truck,  "  and  it  is  my  intention  to  tra 
vel  it  without  jostling,  or  being  jostled.  As  for  the 
sloop,  she  is  standing  out  under  a  press  of  canvass, 
and  we  are  standing  from  her,  in  nearly  a  straight 
line,  in  like  circumstances.  She  is  some  eight  or  ten 
miles  astern  of  us,  and  there  is  an  old  saying  among 
seamen  that  'a  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase.'  I  do 
not  think  our  case  is  about  to  make  an  exception  to 
the  rule.  I  shall  not  pretend  to  say  what  will  be  the 
npshot.  of  the  matter ;  but  there  is  not  the  ship  in  the 
British  navy  that  can  gain  ten  miles  on  the  Montauk, 
in  her  present  trim,  and  with  this  breeze,  in  as  many 
hours;  so-we  are  quit  of  her  for  the  present." 

The  last  words  were  uttered  just  as  Eve  put  her 
foot  on  the  step  to  descend  into  the  cabin. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  87 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Trin.   Stephano,— 

Steph.  Doth  thy  other  mouth  call  me?   Mercy!    Mercy! 

Tempest. 

THE  life  of  a  packet  steward  is  one  of  incessant 
mixing  and  washing,  of  interrogations  and  com- 
poundings,  all  in  a  space  of  about  twelve  feet  square. 
These  functionaries,  usually  clever  mulattoes  who 
have  caught  fhe  civilisation  of  the  kitchen,  are  busy 
from  morning  till  night  in  their  cabins,  preparing 
dishes,  issuing  orders,  regulating  courses,  starting 
corks,  and  answering  questions.  Apathy  is  the  great 
requisite  for  the  station;  for  wo  betide  the  wretch 
who  fancies  any  modicum  of  zeal,  or  good  nature, 
can  alone  fit  him  for  the  occupation.  From  the  mo 
ment  the  ship  sails  until  that  in  which  a  range  of  the 
cable  is  overhauled,  or  the  chain  is  rowsed  up  in 
readiness  to  anchor,  no  smile  illumines  his  face,  no 
tone  issues  from  his  voice  while  on  duty,  but  that  of 
dogged  routine — of  submission  to  those  above,  or  of 
snarling  authority  to  those  beneath  him.  As  the  hour 
for  the  "drink  gelt,"  or  "  buona  mana,"  approaches, 
however,  he  becomes  gracious  and  smiling.  On  his 
first  appearance  in  the  pantry  of  a  morning,  he  has 
a  regular  series  of  questions  to  answer,  and  for 
which,  like  the  dutiful  Zeluco,  who  wrote  all  his  let 
ters  to  his  mother  on  the  same  day,  varying  the  dates 
to  suit  the  progress  of  time,  he  not  unfrequently  has 
a  regular  set  of  answers  cut  and  dried,  in  his  gastro- 
nomical  mind.  "  How  's  the  wind  ?"  "  How  's  the 
weather?"  "How  's  her  head?"  all  addressed  to  this 


88  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

standing  almanack,  are  mere  matters  of  course,  for 
which  he  is  quite  prepared,  though  it  is  by  no  means 
unusual  to  hear  him  ordering  a  subordinate  to  go  on 
deck,  after  the  answer  is  given,  with  a  view  to  ascer 
tain  the  facts.  It  is  only  when  the  voice  of  the  cap 
tain  is  heard  from  his  state-room,  that  he  conceives 
himself  bound  to  be  very  orthodox,  or  critical,  though 
such  is  the  tact  of  all  connected  with  ships,  that  they 
instinctively  detect  the  "  know  nothings,"  who  are 
uniformly  treated  with  an  indifference  suited  to  their 
culpable  ignorance.  Even  the  "  old  salt"  on  the  fore 
castle  has  an  instinct  for  a  brother  tar,  though  a  pas 
senger,  and  a  due  respect  is  paid  to  Neptune  in 
answering  his  inquiries,  while  half  the  time  the 
maiden  traveller  meets  with  a  grave  equivoque,  a 
marvel,  or  a  downright  mystification. 

On  the  first  morning  out,  the  steward  of  the  Mon- 
tauk  commenced  the  dispensation  of  his  news;  for 
no  sooner  was  he  heard  rattling  the  glasses,  and 
shuffling  plates  in  the  pantry,  than  the  attack  was 
begun  by  Mr.  Dodge,  in  whom  "  a  laudable  thirst 
after  knowledge,"  as  exemplified  in  putting  ques 
tions,  was  rather  a  besetting  principle.  This  gentle 
man  had  come  out  in  the  ship,  as  has  been  mention 
ed,  and  unfortunately  for  the  interest  of  his  propen 
sity,  not  only  the  steward,  but  all  on  board,  had,  as  it 
is  expressed  in  slan^  language,  early  taken  the  mea 
sure  of  his  foot.  The  result  of  his  present  applica 
tion  was  the  following  brief  dialogue. 

"Steward,"  called  out  Mr.  Dodge,  through  the 
blinds  of  his  state-room;  "whereabouts  are  we?" 

"  In  the  British  Channel,  sir." 

"  I  might  have  guessed  that  myself." 

"So  I  s'pose,  sir;  nobody  is  better  at  guessing 
and  diwining  than  Mr.  Dodge." 

"  But,  in  what  part  of  the  Channel  are  we,  Sauri- 
ders?" 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  89 

**  About  the  middle,  sir." 

"  How  far  have  we  come  in  the  night  ?" 

"  From  Portsmouth  Roads  to  this  place,  sir." 

Mr.  Dodge  was  satisfied,  and  the  steward,  W7ho 
would  not  have  dared  to  be  so  explicit  with  any 
other  cabin-passenger,  continued  coolly  to  mix  an 
omelette.  The  next  attack  was  made  from  the  same 
room,  by  Sir  George  Templemore.  • 

"  Steward,  my  good  fellow,  do  you  happen  to 
know  whereabouts  we  are  ?" 

"  Certainly,  sir ;  the  land  is  still  werry  obwious." 

"  Are  we  getting  on  cleverly?" 

'*  Nicely,  sir ;"  with  a  mincing  emphasis  on  the 
first  word,  that  betrayed  there  was  a  little  waggery 
about  the  grave-looking  mulatto. 

"  And  the  sloop-of-war,  steward?" 

"  Nicely  too,  sir." 

There  was  a  shuffling  in  the  state-room,  followed 
by  a  silence.  The  door  of  Mr.  Sharp's  room  was 
now  opened"  an  inch  or  two,  and  the  following  ques 
tions  issued  through  the  crevice: 

"  Is  the  wind  favourable,  steward?" 

"  Just  her  character,  sir." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  the  wind  is  favourable?" 

"  For  the  Montauk,  sir ;  she  's  a  persuader  in  this 
breeze." 

"  But  is  she  going  in  the  direction  we  wish  ?" 

"  If  the  gentleman  wishes  to  perambulate  Ame 
rica,  it  is  probable  he  will  get  there  with  a  little 
patience." 

Mr.  Sharp  pulled-to  his  door,  and  ten  minutes 
passed  without  further  questions;  the  steward  begin 
ning  to  hope  the  morning  catechism  was  over, 
though  he  grumbled  a  wish  that  gentlemen  would 
"  turn  out"  and  take  a  look  for  themselves.  Now, 
up  to  this  moment,  Saunders  knew  no  more,  than 
those  who  had  just  been  questioning  him  of  the  par- 
8* 


00  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

ticular  situation  of  the  ship,  in  which  he  floated  as 
indifferent  to  the  whereabouts  and  the  winds,  as  men 
sail  in  the  earth  along  its  orbit,  without  bethinking 
them  of  parallaxes,  nodes,  ecliptics,  and  solstices. 
Aware  that  it  was  about  time  for  the  captain  to  be 
heard,  he  sent  a  subordinate  on  deck,  with  a  view  to 
be  ready  to  meet  the  usual  questions  from  his  com 
mander.  A  couple  of  minutes  were  sufficient  to  put 
him  an  courant  of  the  real  state  of  things.  The  next 
door  that  opened  was  that  of  Paul  Blunt,  however, 
who  thrust  his  head  into  the  cabin,  with  all  his  dark 
curls  in  the  confusion  of  a  night  scene. 

"  Steward  !" 

"  Sir." 

"How's  the  wind?" 

"  Quite  exhilarating,  sir." 

"  But,  from  what  quarter?" 

"  About  south,  sir." 

"  Is  there  much  of  it?" 

"  A  prewailing  breeze,  sir." 

"And  the  sloop?" 

"  She  's  to  leeward,  sir,  operating  along  as  fast  as 
she  can." 

"  Steward !" 

"Sir,"  stepping  hurriedly  out  of  his  pantry,  in  or 
der  to  hear  more  distinctly. 

"  Under  what  sail  are  we?" 

"  Topgallant  sails,  sir." 

"  How  's  her  head  ?" 

"  West-south-west,  sir." 

"Delicious!  Any  news  of  the  rover?" 

"  Hull  down  to  leeward,  sir,  and  on  our  quarter." 

"  Staggering  along,  eh  ?" 

"  Quite  like  a  disguised  person,  sir." 

"  Better  still.  Hurry  along  that  breakfast  of  yours, 
sir;  I'm  as  hungry  as  a  Troglodyte." 

The  honest  captain  had  caught*  this  word  from  a 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  91 

recent  treatise  against  agrarianism,  and  having  an 
acquired  taste  for  orders  in  one  sense,  at  least,  he 
flattered  himself  with  being  what  is  called  a  Conser 
vative  ;  in  other  words,  he  had  a  strong  relish  for 
that  maxim  of  the  Scotch  freebooter,  which  is  ren 
dered  into  English  by  the  homely  aphorism  of  "  keep 
what  you  've  got,  and  get  what  you  can." 

A  cessation  of  the  interrogatories  took  place,  and 
soon  after  the  passengers  began  to  appear  in  the 
cabin,  one  by  one.  As  the  first  step  is  almost  inva 
riably  to  go  on  deck,  especially  in  good  weather,  in 
a  few  minutes  nearly  all  of  the  last  night's  party  were 
again  assembled  in  the  open  air,  a  balm  that  none 
can  appreciate  but  those  who  have  experienced  the 
pent  atmosphere  of  a  crowded  vessel.  The  steward 
had  rendered  a  faithful  account  of  the  state  of  the 
weather  to  the  captain,  who  was  now  seen  standing 
in  the  main-rigging,  looking  at  the  clouds  to  wind 
ward,  and  at  the  sloop-of-war  to  leeward,  in  the 
knowing  manner  of  one  who  was  making  compari 
sons  materially  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter. 

The  day  was  fine,  and  the  Montauk,  bearing  her 
canvass  nobly,  was,  to  use  the  steward's  language, 
also  staggering  along,  under  everything  that  would 
draw,  from  her  topgallant-sails  down,  with  the  wind 
near  two  points  forward  of  the  beam,  or  on  an  easy 
bowline.  As  there  was  but  little  sea,  her  rate  was 
quite  nine  knots,  though  varying  with  the  force  of 
the  wind.  The  cruiser  had  certainly  followed  them 
thus  far,  though  doubts  began  to  be  entertained 
whether  she  was  in  chase-,  or  merely  bound  like 
themselves  to  the  westward  ;  a  course  common  to  all 
vessels  that  wish  to  clear  the  Channel,  even  when  it 
is  intended  to  go  south,  as  the  rocks  and  tides  of  the 
French  coast  are  inconvenient  neighbours  in  long 
nights. 

"  Who  knows,  after  all,  that  the  cutter  which  tried 


92  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

to  board  us,"  asked  the  captain  aloud,  **  belongs  to 
the  ship  to  leeward  ?" 

"  I  know  the  boat,  sir,"  answered  the  second  mate; 
"  and  the  ship  is  the  Foam." 

"  Let  her  foam  away,  then,  if  she  wishes  to  speak 
us.  Has  any  one  tried  her  bearings,  since  daylight?" 

"  We  set  her  by  the  compass  at  six  o'clock,  sir, 
and  she  has  not  varied  her  bearing,  as  far  as  from 
one  belaying  pin  to  another,  in  three  hours ;  but  her 
hull  rises  fast:  you  can  now  make  out  her  ports, and 
at  daylight  the  bottom  of  her  courses  dipped." 

"  Ay,  ay,  she  is  a  light-going  Foam,  then !  If  that 
is  the  case,  she.  will  be  alongside  of  us  by  night." 

"  In  which  event,  captain,  you  will  be  obliged  to 
give  him  a  broadside  of  Vattel,"  threw  in  John  Ef- 
fingham,  in  his  cool  sarcastic  manner. 

"  If  that  will  answer  his  errand,  he  is  welcome  to 
as  much  as  he  can  carry.  I  begin  to  doubt,  gentle 
men,  whether  this  fellow  be  not  in  earnest:  in  which 
case  you  may  have  an  opportunity  of  witnessing 
how  ships  are  handled,  when  seamen  have  their 
management.  I  have  no  objection  to  setting  the  ex 
perience  of  a  poor  come-and-go  sort  of  a  fellow,  like 
myself,  in  opposition  to  the  geometry  and  Hamilton 
Moore  of  a  young  man-of-war's-man.  I  dare  say, 
now,  yonder  chap  is  a  lord,  or  a  lord's  progeny, 
while  poor  Jack  Truck  is  just  as  you  see  him." 

"  Do  you  not  think  half-an-hour  of  compliance  on 
our  part  might  bring  the  matter  to  an  amicable  con 
clusion  at  once?'  said  Paul  Blunt.  "Were  we  to 
run  down  to  him,  the  object  of  his  pursuit  could  be 
determined  in  a  few  minutes." 

"  What !  and  abandon  poor  Davis  to  the  rapacity 
of  that  rascally  attorney  ?"  generously  exclaimed 
Sir  George  Templemore.  "  1  would  prefer  paying 
the  port-charges  myself,  for  running  into  the  handiest 
French  port,  and  letting  the  honest  fellow  escape !" 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  93 

"  There  is  no  probability  that  a  cruiser  would  at 
tempt  to  take  a  mere  debtor  from  a  foreign  vessel  on 
the  open  sea." 

"  If  there  were  no  tobacco  in  the  world,  Mr. 
Blunt,  I  might  feel  disposed  to  waive  the  categories, 
and  show  the  gentleman  that  courtesy,"  returned  the 
captain,  who  was  preparing  another  cigar.  "  But 
while  the  cruiser  might  not  feel  authorised  to  take 
an  absconding  debtor  from  this  vessel,  he  might  feel 
otherwise  on  the  subject  of  tobacco,  provided  there 
has  been  an  information  for  smuggling." 

Captain  Truck  then  explained,  that  the  subordi 
nates  of  the  packets  frequently  got  their  ships  into 
trouble,  by  taking  adventures  of  the  forbidden  weed 
clandestinely  into  European  ports,  and  that  his  ship, 
in  such  circumstances,  would  lose  her  place  in  the 
line,  and  derange  all  the  plans  of  the  company  to 
which  she  belonged.  He  did  the  English  govern 
ment  the  justice  to  sny,  that  it  had  always  manifested 
a  liberal  disposition  not  to  punish  the  innocent  for  the 
guilty;  but  were  any  such  complaints  actually  in  the 
wind,  he  thought  he  could  settle  it  with  much  less 
loss  to  himself  on  his  return,  than  on  the  day  of  sail 
ing.  While  this  explanation  was  delivered,  a  group 
had  clustered  round  the  speaker,  leaving  Eve  and  her 
party  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  deck. 

'*  This  last  speech  of  Mr.  Blunt's  quite  unsettles  my 
opinion  of  his  national  character,  as  Vattel  and  our 
worthy  captain  wrould  say,"  remarked  Mr.  Sharp. 
"Last  night,  I  set  him  down  as  a  right  loyal  Ameri 
can;  but  I  think  it  would  not  be  natural  for  a  tho 
rough-going  countryman  of  yours,  Miss  Effingham, 
to  propose  this  act  of  courtesy  to  a  cruiser  of  King 
William." 

"  How  far  any  countrymen  of  mine,  thorough-going 
or  not,  have  reason  to  manifest  extreme  courtesy  to 
any  of  your  cruisers,"  Eve  laughingly  replied,  "1 


94  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

shall  leave  Captain  Truck  to  say.  But,  with  you,  I 
have  long  been  at  a  loss  to  determine  whether  Mr. 
Blunt  is  an  Englishman  or  an  American,  or  indeed, 
whether  he  be  either." 

"  Long,  Miss  Effingham  !  He  then  has  the  honour 
of  being  well  known  to  you  ?" 

Eve  answered  steadily,  though  the  colour  mounted 
to  her  brow;  but  whether  from  the  impetuous  excla 
mation  of  her  companion,  or  from  any  feeling  con 
nected  with  the  subject  of  their  conversation,  the 
young  man  was  at  a  loss  to  discover. 

"  Long  as  girls  of  twenty  count  time — some  four 
or  five  years;  but  you  may  judge  how  well,  when  I 
tell  you  I  am  ignorant  of  his  country  even." 

"  And  may  I  venture  to  ask  which  do  you,  your 
self,  give  him  credit  for  being,  an  American  or  an 
Englishman?" 

Eve's  bright  eyes  laughed>  as  she  answered,  "  You 
have  put  the  question  with  so  much  finesse,  and  with 
a  politeness  so  well  managed,  that  I  should  indeed  be 
churlish  to  refuse  an  answer: — Nay,  do  not  interrupt 
me,  and  spoil  all  the  good  you  have  done  by  unne 
cessary  protestations  of  sincerity." 

"All  I  wish  to  say  is,  to  ask  an  explanation  of  a 
finesse,  of  which  I  am  quite  as  innocent  as  of  any 
wish  to  draw,  down  upon  myself  the  visitations  of 
your  displeasure." 

"  Do  you,  then,  really  conceive  it  a  credit  to  be 
an  American  ?" 

"  Nobody  of  less  modesty  than  yourself,  Miss  Ef 
fingham,  under  all  the  circumstances,  would  dream  of 
asking  the  question." 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  civility,  which  must  be  taken 
as  it  is  offered,  I  presume,  quite  as  a  thing  en  regie ; 
but  to  leave  our  fine  opinions  of  each  other,  as  well  as 
our  prejudices,  out  of  the  question — " 

"You  will  excuse  me  if  I  object  to  this,  for  I  feel 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  95 

my  good  sense  implicated.  You  can  hardly  attribute 
to  me  opinions  so  utterly  unreasonable,  so  unworthy 
of  a  gentleman, — so  unfounded,  in  short!  Am  I  not 
incurring  all  the  risks  and  hardships  of  a  long  sea- 
voyage,  expressly  to  visit  your  great  country,  and,  I 
trust,  to  improve  by  its  example  and  society  ?" 

"  Since  you  appear  to  wish  it,  Mr.  Sharp — "  Eve 
glanced  her  playful  eye  up  at  him  as  she  pronounced 
the  name — "I  will  be  as  credulous  as  a  believer  in 
animal  magnetism  :  and  that,  I  fancy,  is  pushing  cre 
dulity  to  the  verge  of  reason.  It  is  now  settled  be 
tween  us,  that  you  do  conceive  it  an  honour  to  be  an 
American,  born,  educated,  and  by  extraction." 

"All  of  which  being  the  case  with  Miss  Effing- 
ham." 

"  All  but  the  second  ;  indeed,  they  write  me  fear 
ful  things  concerning  this  European  education  of 
mine:  some  even  go  so  far  as  to  assure  me  I  shall  be 
quite  unfitted  to  live  in  the  society  to  which  I  properly 
belong!" 

"  Europe  will  be  rejoiced  to  receive  you  back 
again,  in  that  case;  and  no  European  more  so  than 
myself." 

The  beautiful  colour  deepened  a  little  on  the  cheek 
of  Eve,  but  she  made  no  immediate  reply. 

"  To  return  to  our  subject,"  she  at  length  said. 
"  Were  I  required  to  say,  I  should  not  be  able  to  de 
cide  on  the  country  of  Mr.  Blunt;  nor  have  T  ever 
met  with  any  one  who  appeared  to  know.  I  saw  him 
first  in  Germany,  where  he  circulated  in  the  best 
company ;  though  no  one  seemed  acquainted  with 
his  history,  even  there.  He  made  a  good  figure;  was 
quite  at  his  ease;  speaks  several  languages  almost  as 
well  as  the  natives  of  the  different  countries  them 
selves;  and,  altogether,  was  a  subject  of  curiosity 
with  those  who  had  leisure  to  think  of  any  thing  but 
their  own  dissipation  and  folly." 


96  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Mr.  Sharp  listened  with  obvious  gravity  to  the  fair 
speaker,  and  had  not  her  own  eyes  been  fastened  on 
the  deck,  she  might  have  detected  the  lively  interest 
betrayed  in  his.  Perhaps  the  feeling  which  was  at 
the  bottom  of  all  this,  to  a  slight  degree,  influenced 
his  answer. 

"  Quite  an  Admirable  Crichton !" 

"  I  do  not  say  that,  though  certainly  expert  in 
tongues.  My  own  rambling  life  has  made  me  ac 
quainted  with  a  few  languages,  and  I  do  assure  you, 
this  gentleman  speaks  three  or  four  with  almost  equal 
readiness,  and  with  no  perceptible  accent.  I  remem 
ber,  at  Vienna,  many  even  believed  him  to  be  a  Ger 
man." 

"What!  with  the  name  of  Blunt?" 

Eve  smiled,  and  her  companion,  who  silently 
watched  every  expression  of  her  varying  counte 
nance,  as  if  to  read  her  thoughts,  noted  it. 

"Names  signify  little  in  these  migratory  times," 
returned  the  young  lady.  "  You  have  but  to  imagine 
a  voTf,  before  it,  and  it  would  pass  at  Dresden,  or  at 
Berlin.  Von  Blunt  der  Edelgebor?ie  Graf  Von  Blu?it, 
Hofrath;  or  if  you  like  it  better,  Geheimer  Ratk  mit 
Excellent  und  eure  Gnaden." 

"  Or,  Baw-Berg-  Veg-Inspector-Substitute  /"  added 
Mr.  Sharp,  laughing.  "  No,  no  !  this  will  hardly  pass. 
Blunt  is  a  good  old  English  name;  but  it  has  not 
finesse  enough  for  Italian,  German,  Spanish,  or  any 
thing  else  but  for  John  Bull  and  his  family." 

"  I  see  no  necessity,  for  my  part,  for  all  this  Blunt- 
ishness;  the  gentleman  may  think  frankness  a  good 
travelling  quality." 

"  Surely,  he  has  not  concealed  his  real  name  !" 

"Mr.  Sharp,  Mr.  Blunt;  Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Sharp;" 
rejoined  Eve,  laughing  until  her  bright  eyes  danced 
with  pleasure.  "  There  would  be  something  ridicu 
lous,  indeed,  in  seeing  so  much  of  the  finesse  of  a  mas- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  97 

ter  of  ceremonies  subjected  to  so  profound  a  mystifi 
cation  !  I  have  been  told  that  passing  introductions 
amount  to  little  among  you  men,  and  this  would  be  a 
case  in  point.'* 

"  I  would  I  dared  ask  if  it  be  really  so." 

"Were  I  to  be  guilty  of  indiscretion  in  another's 
case,  you  would  not  fail  to  distrust  me  in  your  own. 
I  am,  moreover,  a  protestant,  and  abjure  auricular 
confessions." 

"  You  will  not  frown  if  I  inquire  whether  the  rest 
of  your  party  remember  him?" 

"  My  father,  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  and  the  ex 
cellent  Nanny  Sidley,  again ;  but,  I  think,  none  other 
of  the  servants,  as  he  never  visited  us.  Mr.  John 
Effingham  was  travelling  in  Egypt  at  the  time,  and 
did  not  see  him  at  all,  and  we  only  met  in  general  so 
ciety;  Nanny's  acquaintance  was  merely  that  of  see 
ing  him  check  his  horse  in  the  Prater,  to  speak  to  us 
of  a  morning." 

"  Poor  fellow,  I  pity  him  ;  he  has,  at  least,  never 
had  the  happiness  of  strolling  on  the  shores  of  Cosmo 
and  the  islands  of  Lago  Maggiore  in  your  company, 
or  of  studying  the  wonders  of  the  Pitti  and  the  Vati 
can." 

"  If  I  must  confess  all,  he  journeyed  with  us  on  foot 
and  in  boats  an  entire  month,  among  the  wonders  of 
the  Obcrland,  and  across  the  Wallenstadt.  This  was 
at  a  time  when  we  had  no  one  with  us  but  the  regular 
guides  and  the  German  courier,  who  was  discharged 
in  London." 

"  Were  it  not  for  the  impropriety  of  tampering 
with  a  servant,  I  would  cross  the  deck  and  question 
your  good  Nanny,  this  moment !"  said  Mr.  Sharp 
with  playful  menace.  "  Of  all  torture,  that  of  sus 
pense  is  the  hardest  to  be  borne." 

"  I  grant  you  full  permission,  and  acquit  you  of  all 
sins,  whether  of  disrespect,  meanness,  impertinence, 

VOL.  i.  9 


98  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

ungentlemanlike  practices,  or  any  other  vice  that 
may  be  thought  to  attend  and  characterize  the  act." 

"This  formidable  array  of  qualities  would  check 
the  curiosity  of  a  village  gossip!" 

"  It  has  an  effect  I  did  not  intend,  then;  I  wish  you 
to  put  your  threat  in  execution." 

"Not  seriously,  surely'?" 

"  Never  more  so.  Take  a  favourable  moment  to 
speak  to  the  good  soul,  as  an  old  acquaintance;  she 
remembers  you  well,  and  by  a  little  of  that  interro 
gating  management  you  possess,  a  favourable  oppor 
tunity  may  occur  to  bring  in  the  other  subject.  In 
the  mean  time,  I  will  glance  over  the  pages  of  this 
book." 

As  Eve  began  to  read,  Mr.  Sharp  perceived  she  was 
in  earnest,  and  hesitating  a  moment,  in  doubt  of  the 
propriety  of  the  act,  he  yielded  to  her  evident  and 
expressed  desire,  and  strolled  carelessly  towards  the 
faithful  old  domestic.  He  addressed  her  indifferently 
at  first,  until  believing  he  might  go  further,  he  smil 
ingly  observed  that  he  believed  he  had  seen  her  in 
Italy.  To  this  Nanny  quietly  assented,  and  when  he 
indirectly  added  that  it  was  under  another  name,  she 
smiled,  but  merely  intimated  her  consciousness  of  the 
fact,  with  a  quick  glance  of  the  eye. 

"  You  know  that  travellers  assume  names  for  the 
sake  of  avoiding  curiosity,"  he  added,  "and  I  hope 
you  will  not  betray  me." 

"  You  need  not  fear  me,  sir ;  I  meddle  with  little 
besides  my  own  duty,  and  so  long  as  Miss  Eve  ap 
pears  to  think  there  is  no  harm  in  it,  I  will  venture 
to  say  it  is  no  more  than  a  gentleman's  caprice." 

"  Why,  that  is  the  very  word  she  applied  to  it  her 
self!  You  have  caught  the  term  from  Miss  Effing- 
ham." 

"  Well,  sir,  and  if  I  have,  it  is  caught  from  one  who 
deals  little  harm  to  any." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  99 

"  I  believe  I  am  not  the  only  one  on  board  who 
travels  under  a  false  name, if  the  truth  were  known?" 

Nanny  looked  first  at  the  deck,  then  at  her  inter 
rogator's  face,  next  towards  Mr.  Blunt,  withdrawing 
her  eye  again,  as  if  guilty  of  an  indiscretion,  and 
finally  at  the  sails.  Perceiving  her  embarrassment, 
respecting  her  discretion,  and  ashamed  of  the  task  he 
had  undertaken,  Mr.  Sharp  said  a  few  civil  things 
suited  to  the  condition  of  the  woman,  and  sauntering 
about  the  deck  for  a  short  time,  to  avoid  suspicion, 
soon  found  himself  once  more  alongside  of  Eve.  The 
latter  inquired  with  her  eyes,  a  little  exultingly  per 
haps,  concerning  his  success. 

"  I  have  failed,"  he  said  ;  "  but  something  must  be 
ascribed  to  my  own  awkward  diffidence;  for  there 
is  so  much  meanness  in  tampering  with  a  servant, 
that  I  had  not  the  heart  to  push  my  questions,  even 
while  I  am  devoured  by  curiosity." 

"  YourJ  fastidiousness  is  not  a  disease  with  which 
all  on  board  are  afflicted,  for  there  is  at  least  one 
grand  inquisitor  among  us,  by  what  I  can  learn;  so 
take  heed  to  your  sins,  and  above  all  be  very  guarded 
of  old  letters,  marks,  and  other  tell-tales,  that  usually 
expose  impostors." 

"  To  all  that,  I  believe,  sufficient  care  has  already 
been  had,  by  that  other  Dromio,  my  own  man." 

"  And  in  what  wray  do  you  share  the  name  between 
you  ?  Is  it  Dromio  of  Syracuse,  and  Dromio  of  Ephe- 
sus?  or  does  John  call  himself  Fitz-Edward,  or  Mor 
timer,  or  De  Courcy?' 

"  He  has  complaisance  enough  to  make  the  passage 
with  nothing  but  a  Christian  name,  I  believe.  In 
truth,  it  was  by  a  mere  accident  that  I  turned  usurper 
in  this  way.  He  took  the  state-room  for  me,  and 
being  required  to  give  a  name,  he  gave  his  own,  as 
usual.  When  I  went  to  the  docks  to  look  at  the  ship, 
I  was  saluted  as  Mr.  Sharp,  and  then  the  conceit 


100  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

i 

took  me  of  trying  how  it  would  wear  for  a  month  or 
six  weeks.  I  would  give  the  world  to  know  if  the 
Geheimer  Rath  got  his  cognomen  in  the  same  honest 
manner." 

"  I  think  not,  as  his  man  goes  by  the  pungent  title 
of  Pepper.  Unless  poor  John  should  have  occasion 
for  two  names  during  the  passage,  you  are  reasonably 
safe.  And,  still,  I  think,"  continued  Eve,  biting  her 
lips,  like  one  who  deliberated,  "  if  it  were  any  longer 
polite  to  bet,  Mr.  John  Effingham  would  hazard  all 
the  French  gloves  in  his  trunks,  against  all  the  Eng 
lish  finery  in  yours,  that  the  inquisitor  just  hinted  at 
gets  at  your  secret  before  we  arrive.  Perhaps  I 
ought  rather  to  say,  ascertains  that  you  are  not  Mr. 
Sharp,  and  that  Mr.  Blunt  is." 

Her  companion  entreated  her  to  point  out  the  per 
son  to  whom  she  had  given  the  sobriquet  she  men 
tioned. 

"  Accuse  me  of  giving  nicknames  to  no  one.  The 
man  has  this  title  from  Mademoiselle  Viefville,  and 
his  own  great  deeds.  It  is  a  certain  Mr.  Steadfast 
Dodge,  who,  it  seems,  knows  something  of  us,  from 
the  circumstance  of  living  in  the  same  county,  and, 
who,  from  knowing  a  little  in  this  comprehensive 
manner,  is  desirous  of  knowing  a  great  deal  more." 

"  The  natural  result  of  all  useful  knowledge." 

"  Mr.  John  Effingham,  who  is  apt  to  fling  sarcasms 
at  all  lands,  his  native  country  included,  affirms  that 
this  gentleman  is  but  a  fair  specimen  of  many  more 
it  will  be  our  fortune  to  meet  in  America.  If  so,  we 
shall  not  long  be  strangers ;  for  according  to  Made 
moiselle  Viefville  and  my  good  Nanny,  he  has  al 
ready  communicated  to  them  a  thousand  interesting 
particulars  of  himself,  in  exchange  for  which  he  asks 
no  more  than  the  reasonable  compensation  of  having 
all  his  questions  concerning  us  truly  answered." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  101 

"  This  is  certainly  alarming  intelligence,  and  I 
shall  take  heed  accordingly." 

"  If  he  discover  that  John  is  without  a  surname,  I 
am  far  from  certain  he  will  not  prepare  to  have  him 
arraigned  for  some  high  crime  or  misdemeanour;  for 
Mr.  John  Effingham  maintains  that  the  besetting 
propensity  of  all  this  class  is  to  divine  the  wrorst  the 
moment  their  imaginations  cease  to  be  fed  with 
facts.  All  is  false  with  them,  and  it  is  flattery  or 
accusation." 

The  approach  of  Mr.  Blunt  caused  a  cessation  of 
the  discourse,  Eve  betraying  a  slight  degree  of  sen 
sitiveness  about  admitting  him  to  share  in  these  little 
asides,  a  circumstance  that  her  companion  observed, 
not  without  satisfaction.  The  discourse  now  became 
general,  the  person  who  joined  them  amusing  the 
others  with  an  account  of  several  proposals  already 
made  by  Mr.  Dodge,  which,  as  he  expressed  it,  in 
making  the  relation,  manifested  the  strong  commu 
nity-characteristics  of  an  America.  The  first  pro 
position  was  to  take  a  vote  to  ascertain  whether  Mr. 
Van  Buren  or  Mr.  Harrison  was  the  greatest  fa 
vourite  of  the  passengers  ;  and,  on  this  being  defeat 
ed,  owing  to  the  total  ignorance  of  so  many  on  board 
of  both  the  parties  he  had  named,  he  had  suggested 
the  expediency  of  establishing  a  society  to  ascertain 
daily  the  precise  position  of  the  ship.  Captain  Truck 
had  thrown  cold  water  on  the  last  proposal,  however, 
by  adding  to  it  what,  among  legislators,  is  called  a 
"  rider ;"  he  having  drily  suggested  that  one  of  the 
duties  of  the  said  society  should  be  to  ascertain  also 
the  practicability  of  wading  across  the  Atlantic. 

9* 


102  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"When  clouds  are  seen,  wise  men  put  on  their  cloaks ; 
When  great  leaves  full,  then  winter  is  at  hand ; 
When  the  sun  sets,  who  cloth  not  look  for  night  ? 
Untimely  storms  make  men  expect  a  dearth  : 
All  may  "be  well  ;  but  if  God  sort  it  so, 
'Tis  more  than  we  deserve,  or  I  expect. 

Richard  111. 

THESE  conversations,  however,  were  mere  episodes 
of  the  great  business  of  the  passage.  Throughout 
the  morning,  the  master  was  busy  in  rating  his  mates, 
giving  sharp  reprimands  to  the  stewards  and  cooks, 
overhauling  the  log-line,  introducing  the  passengers, 
seeing  to  the  stowage  of  the  anchors,  in  getting  down 
the  signal-pole,  throwing  in  touches  of  Vattel,  and 
otherwise  superintending  duty,  and  dispensing  opin 
ions.  All  this  time,  the  cat  in  the  grass  does  not 
watch  the  bird  that  hops  along  the  ground  with  keener 
vigilance  than  he  kept  his  eye  on  the  Foam.  To  an 
ordinary  observer,  the  two  ships  presented  the  fami 
liar  spectacle  of  vessels  sailing  in  the  same  direction, 
with  a  very  equal  rate  of  speed;  and  as  the  course 
was  that  necessary  to  clear  the  Channel,  most  of  the 
passengers,  and,  indeed,  the  greater  part  of  the  crew, 
began  to  think  the  cruiser,  like  themselves,  was 
merely  bound  to  the  westward.  Mr.  Truck,  on  the 
contrary,  judging  by  signs  and  movements  that  more 
naturally  suggested  themselves  to  one  accustomed  to 
direct  the  evolutions  of  a  ship,  and  to  reason  on  their 
objects,  than  to  the  mere  subjects  of  his  will,  thought 
differently.  To  him,  the  motive  of  the  smallest  change 
on  board  the  sloop-of-war  was  as  intelligible  as  if  it 
had ,  been  explained  in  words,  and  he  even  foresaw 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  103 

many  that  were  about  to  take  place.  Bcifore  noon, 
the  Foam  had  got  fairly  abeam,  and  Mr.  Leach, 
pointing  out  the  circumstance,  observed,  that  if  her 
wish  was  to  overhaul  them,  she  ought  then  to  tack; 
it  being  a  rule  among  seamen,  that  the  pursuing  ves 
sel  should  turn  to  windward  as  often  as  she  found 
herself  nearest  to  her  chase.  But  the  experience  of 
Captain  Truck  taught  him  better;  the  tide  was  set 
ting  into  the  Channel  on  the  flood,  and  the  wind 
enabled  both  ships  to  take  the  current  on  their  lee- 
bows,  a  power  that  forced  them  up  to  windward ; 
whereas,  by  tacking,  the  Foam  would  receive  the 
force  of  the  stream  on  her  weather  broadside,  or  so 
nearly  so,  as  to  sweep  her  farther  astern  than  her 
difference  in  speed  could  easily,  or  in  season,  repair. 

"  She  has  the  heels  of  us,  and  she  weathers  on  us, 
as  it  is,"  grumbled  the  master;  "and  that  might 
satisfy  a  man  less  modest.  I  have  led  the  gentleman 
such  a  tramp  already  that  he  will  be  in  none  of  the 
best  humours  when  he  comes  alongside,  and  we  may 
make  up  our  minds  on  seeing  Portsmouth  again  be 
fore  we  see  New  York,  unless  a  slant  of  wind,  or  the 
night,  serve  us  a  good  turn.  I  trust,  Leach,  you 
have  not  been  destroying  your  prospects  in  life  by 
looking  too  wistfully  at  a  tobacco-field  1" 

"Not  I,  sir ;  and  if  you  will  give  me  leave  to  say 
it,  Captain  Truck,  I  do  not  think  a  plug  has  been 
landed  from  the  ship,  which  did  not  go  ashore  in  a 
bona-fide  tobacco-box,  that  might  appear  in  any 
court  in  England.  The  people  will  swear,  to  a  man, 
that  this  is  true." 

"  Ay,  ay  !  arid  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer  would 
be  the  greatest  fools  in  England  not  to  believe  them. 
If  there  has  been  no  defrauding  the  revenue,  why 
does  a  cruiser  follow  this  ship,  a  regular  packet,  to 
sea  ?" 

"This  affair  of  the  steerage  passenger,  Davis,  sir, 


104  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

is  probably  the  cause.  The  man  may  be  heavily  in 
debt,  or  possibly  a  defaulter;  for  these  rogues,  when 
they  break  down,  often  fall  lower  than  the  'twixt- 
decks  of  a  ship  like  this." 

"  This  will  do  to  put  the  quarter-deck  and  cabin  in 
good  humour  at  sailing,  and  give  them  something  to 
open  an  acquaintance  with;  but  it  is  sawdust  to 
none  but  your  new  beginners.  I  have  known  that 
Seal  this  many  a  year,  and  the  rogue  never  yet  had 
a  case  that  touched  the  quarter-deck.  It  is  as  the 
man  and  his  wife  say,  and  I'll  not  give  them  up,  out 
here  in  blue  water,  for  as  much  foam  as  lies  on  Jersey 
beach  after  an  easterly  blow.  It  will  not  be  any  of 
the  family  of  Davis  that  will  satisfy  yonder  wind- 
eater;  but  he  will  lay  his  hand  on  the  whole  family 
of  the  Montauk,  leaving  them  the  agreeable  alter 
native  of  going  back  to  Portsmouth  in  his  pleasant 
society,  or  getting  out  here  in  mid-channel,  and 
wading  ashore  as  best  they  can.  D — me!  if  I  be 
lieve,  Leach,  that  Vattel  will  bear  the  fellow  out  in  it, 
even  if  there  has  been  a  whole  hogshead  of  the 
leaves  trundled  into  his  island  without  a  permit!" 

To  this  Mr.  Leach  had  no  encouraging  answer  to 
make,  for,  like  most  of  his  class,  he  held  practical 
force  in  much  greater  respect  than  the  abstractions 
of  books.  He  held  it  prudent,  therefore,  to  be  silent, 
though  greatly  doubting  the  efficacy  of  a  quotation 
from  any  authority  on  board,  when  fairly  put  in  op 
position  to  a  written  order  from  the  admiral  at  Ports 
mouth,  or  even  to  a  signal  sent  down  from  the  Admi 
ralty  at  London. 

The  day  wore  away,  making  a  gradual  change  in 
the  relative  positions  of  the  two  ships,  though  so 
slowly,  as  to  give  Captain  Truck  strong  hopes  of  be 
ing  able  to  dodge  his  pursuer  in  the  coming  night, 
which  promised  to  be  dark  and  squally.  To  return 
to  Portsmouth  was  his  full  intention,  but  not  until  he 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  105 

had  first  delivered  his  freight  and  passengers  in  New 
York ;  for,  like  all  men  bound  up  body  and  soul  in 
the  performance  of  an  especial  duty,  he  looked  on  a 
frustration  of  his  immediate  object  as  a  much  greater 
calamity  than  even  a  double  amount  of  more  remote 
evil.  Besides,  he  felt  a  strong  reliance  on  the  libe 
rality  of  the  English  authorities  in  the  end,  and  had 
little  doubt  of  being  able  to  extricate  himself  and  his 
ship  from  any  penalties  to  which  the  indiscretion  or 
cupidity  of  hi^  subordinates  might  have  rendered  him 
liable. 

Just  as  the  sun  dipped  into  the  watery  track  of  the 
Montauk,  most  of  the  cabin  passengers  again  ap 
peared  on  deck,  to  take  a  look  at  the  situation  of  the 
two  vessels,  and  to  form  their  own  conjectures  as  to 
the  probable  result  of  the  adventure.  By  this  time 
the  Foam  had  tacked  twice,  once  to  weather  upon  the 
wake  of  her  chase,  and  again  to  resume  her  line  of 
pursuit.  The  packet  was  too  good  a  ship  to  be 
easily  overtaken,  and  the  cruiser  was  now  nearly 
hull-down  astern,  but  evidently  coming  up  at  a  rate 
that  would  bring  her  alongside  before  morning.  The 
wind  blew  in.  squalls,  a  circumstance  that  always 
aids  a  vessel  of  war,  as  the  greater  number  of  her 
hands  enables  sail  to  be  made  and  shortened  with 
ease  and  rapidity. 

"  This  unsettled  weather  is  as  much  as  a  mile  an 
hour  against  us,"  observed  Captain  Truck,  who  was 
far  from  pleased  at  the  fact  of  his  being  outsailed  by 
anything  that  floated  ;  "  and,  if  truth  must  be  said,  I 
think  that  fellow  has  somewhere  about  half  a  knot 
the  best  of  it,  in  the  way  of  foot,  on  a  bowline  and 
with  this  breeze.  But  he  has  no  cargo  in,  and  they 
trim  these  boats  like  steel-yards.  Give  us  more 
wind,  or  a  freer,  and  I  would  leave  him  to  digest  his 
orders,  as  a  shark  digests  a  marling-spike,  or  a  ring 
bolt,  notwithstanding  all  his  advantages;  for  little 


106  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

good  would  it  then  do  him  to  be  trying  to  run  into 
the  wind's  eye,  like  a  steam-tug.  As  it  is,  we  must 
submit.  We  are  in  a  category,  and  be  d — d  to  it  1" 

It  was  one  of  those  wild-looking  sunsets  that  are 
so  frequent  in  the  autumn,  in  which  appearances  are 
worse,  perhaps,  than  the  reality.  The  ships  were 
now  so  near  the  Chops  of  the  Channel  that  no  land 
was  visible,  and  the  entire  horizon  presented  that 
chill  and  wintry  aspect  that  belongs  to  gloomy  and 
driving  clouds,  to  which  streaks  of  dull  light  serve 
more  to  give  an  appearance  of  infinite  space  than 
any  of  the  relief  of  brightness.  It  wras  a  dreary 
night-fall  to  a  landsman's  eye ;  though  they  who  bet 
ter  understood  the  signs  of  the  heavens,  as  they  are 
exhibited  on  the  ocean,  saw  little  more  than  the 
promise  of  obscurity,  and  the  usual  hazards  of  dark 
ness  in  a  much-frequented  sea. 

"  This  will  be  a  dirty  night,"  observed  John  Effing- 
ham,  "  and  we  may  have  occasion  to  bring  in  some 
of  the  flaunting  vanity  of  the  ship,  ere  another  morn 
ing  returns." 

"  The  vessel  appears  to  be  in  good  hands,"  return 
ed  Mr.  Effingham  :  "  I  have  watched  them  narrowly ; 
for,  I  know  not  why,  I  have  felt  more  anxiety  on  the 
occasion  of  this  passage  than  on  any  of  the  nine  I 
have  already  made." 

As  he  spoke,  the  tender  father  unconsciously  bent 
his  eyes  on  Eve,  who  leaned  affectionately  on  his 
arm,  to  steady  her  light  form  against  the  pitching  of 
the  vessel.  She  understood  his  feelings  better  than 
he  did  himself,  possibly,  since  accustomed  to  his  fond 
est  care  from  childhood,  she  well  knew  that  he  sel 
dom  thought  of  others,  or  even  of  himself,  while  her 
own  wants  or  safety  appealed  to  his  unwearying 
love. 

"  Father,"  she  said,  smiling  in  his  wistful  face, 
"  we  have  seen  more  troubled  waters  than  these,  far, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  107 

and  in  a  much  frailer  vessel.  Do  you  not  remember 
the  Wallenstadt  and  its  miserable  skiff?  where  I 
have  heard  you  say  there  was  really  danger,  though 
we  escaped  from  it  all  with  a  little  fright." 

"  Perfectly  well  do  I  recollect  it,  love,  nor  have  I 
forgotten  our  brave  companion,  and  his  good  service, 
at  that  critical  moment.  But  for  his  stout  arm  and 
timely  succour  we  might  not,  as  you  say,  have  been 
quit  for  the  fright." 

Although  Mr.  Effingham  looked  only  at  his  daugh 
ter,  while  speaking,  Mr.  Sharp,  who  listened  with 
interest,  saw  the  quick  retreating  glance  of  Eve  at 
Paul  Blunt,  and  felt  something  like  a  chill  in  his 
blood  as  he  perceived  that  her  own  cheeks  seemed 
to  reflect  the  glow  which  appeared  on  that  of  the 
young  man.  He  alone  observed  this  secret  evidence 
of  common  interest  in  some  event  in  which  both  had 
evidently  been  actors,  those  around  them  being  too 
much  occupied  in  the  arrangements  of  the  ship,  and 
too  little  suspicious,  to  heed  the  trifling  circumstance. 
Captain  Truck  had  ordered  all  hands  called,  to  make 
sail,  to  the  surprise  of  even  the  crew.  The  vessel,  at 
the  moment,  was  staggering  along  under  as  much 
canvass  as  she  could  apparently  bear,  and  the  mates 
looked  aloft  with  inquiring  eyes,  as  if  to  ask  what 
more  could  be  done." 

The  master  soon  removed  all  doubts.  With  a  ra 
pidity  that  is  not  common  in  merchant  ships,  but 
which  is  usual  enough  in  the  packets,  the  lower 
studding-sails,  and  two  topmast-studding-sails  were 
prepared,  and  made  ready  for  hoisting.  As  soon  as 
the  words  "  all  ready"  were  uttered,  the  helm  was 
put  up,  the  sails  were  set,  arid  the  Montauk  was 
running  with  a  free  wind  towards  the  narrow  pas 
sage  between  the  Scilly  Islands  and  the  Land's  End. 
Captain  Truck  was  an  expert  channel  pilot,  from 
long  practice,  and  keeping  the  run  of  the  tides  in  his 


108  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

head,  he  had  loosely  calculated  that  his  vessel  had  so 
much  offing  as,  with  a  free  wind,  and  the  great  pro 
gress  she  had  made  in  the  last  twenty- four  hours, 
would  enable  him  to  lay  through  the  pass. 

"  'Tis  a  ticklish  hole  to  run  into  in  a  dirty  night, 
with  a  staggering  breeze,"  he  said,  rubbing  his  hands 
as  if  the  hazard  increased  his  satisfaction,  "  and  we 
will  now  see  if  this  Foam  has  mettle  enough  to 
follow." 

"  The  chap  has  a  quick  eye  and  good  glasses,  even 
though  he  should  want  nerve  for  the  Scilly  rocks," 
cried  the  mate,  who  was  looking  out  from  the  mizen 
rigging.  "  There  go  his  stun'-sails  already,  and  a 
plenty  of  them !" 

Sure  enough  the  cruiser  threw  out  her  studding- 
sails,  had  them  full  and  drawing  in  five  minutes,  and 
altered  her  course  so  as  to  follow  the  Montauk.  There 
was  now  no  longer  any  doubt  concerning  her  object ; 
for  it  was  hardly  possible  two  vessels  should  adopt  so 
bold  a  step  as  this,  just  at  dark,  and  on  such  a  night, 
unless  the  movements  of  one  were  regulated  by  the 
movements  of  the  other. 

In  the  mean  time  anxious  faces  began  to  appear 
on  the  quarter-deck,  and  Mr.  Dodge  was  soon  seen 
moving  stealthily  about  among  the  passengers,  whis 
pering  here,  cornering  there,  and  seemingly  much 
occupied  in  canvassing  opinions  on  the  subject  of 
the  propriety  of  the  step  that  the  master  had  just 
taken ;  though,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  he  rather 
stimulated  opposition  than  found  others  prepared  to 
meet  his  wishes.  When  he  thought,  however,  he 
had  collected  a  sufficient  number  of  suffrages  to  ven 
ture  on  an  experiment,  that  nothing  but  an  inherent 
aversion  to  shipwreck  and  a  watery  grave  could 
embolden  him  to  make,  he  politely  invited  the  cap 
tain  to  a  private  conference  in  the  state-room  occu 
pied  by  himself  and  Sir  George  Templemore.  Ghan- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  109 

ging  the  venue,  as  the  lawyers  term  it,  to  his  own 
little  apartment, — no  master  of  a  packet  willingly 
consenting  to  transact  business  in  any  other  place — 
Captain  Truck,  who  was  out  of  cigars  at  the  mo 
ment,  very  willingly  assented. 

When  the  two  were  seated,  and  the  door  of  the 
room  was  closed,  Mr.  Dodge  carefully  snuffed  the 
candle,  looked  about  him  to  make  sure  there  was  no 
eave's-dropper  in  a  room  eight  feet  by  seven,  and 
then  commenced  his  subject,  with  what  he  conceived 
to  be  a  commendable  delicacy  and  discretion. 

"  Captain  Truck,"  he  said,'in  the  sort  of  low  con 
fidential  tone  that  denotes  equally  concern  and  mys 
tery,  "I  think  by  this  time  you  must  have  set  me 
down  as  one  of  your  warm  and  true  friends  and  sup 
porters.  I  came  out  in  your  ship,  and  please  God 
we  escape  the  perils  of  the  sea,  it  is  my  hope  and 
intention  to  return  home  in  her." 

"  If  not,  friend  Dodge,"  returned  the  master,  ob 
serving  that  the  other  paused  to  note  the  effect  of  his 
peroration,  and  using  a  familiarity  in  his  address 
that  the  acquaintance  of  the  former  passage  had 
taught  him  was  not  misapplied;  "if  not,  friend 
Dodge,  you  have  made  a  capital  mistake  in  getting 
on  board  of  her,  as  it  is  by  no  means  probable  an 
occasion  will  offer  to  get  out  of  her,  until  we  fall  in 
with  a  news-boat,  or  a  pilot-boat,  at  least  somewhere 
in  the  latitude  and  longitude  of  Sandy  Hook.  You 
smoke,  I  believe,  sir  V9 

"  I  ask  no  better,"  returned  Steadfast,  declining 
the  offer;  "I  have  told  every  one  on  the  Continent," 
— Mr.  Dodge  had  been  to  Paris,  Geneva,  along  the 
Rhine,  and, through  Belgium  and  Holland,  and  in  his 
eyes,  this  was  the  Continent, — "  that  no  better  ship 
or  better  captain  sails  the  ocean ;  and  you  know, 
captain,  I  have  a  way  with  me,  when  I  please,  that 
causes  what  I  say  to  be  remembered,  Why,  my 

VOL.  i.  10 


110  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

dear  sir,  I  had  an  article  extolling  the  whole  line  in 
the  most  appropriate  terms,  and  this  ship  in  par 
ticular,  put  into  the  journal  at  Rotterdam.  It  was 
so  well  done  that  not  a  soul  suspected  it  came  from 
a  personal  friend  of  yours." 

The  captain  was  rolling  the  small  end  of  a  cigar 
in  his  mouth  to  prepare  it  for  smoking,  the  regula 
tions  of  the  ship  forbidding  any  further  indulgence 
below;  but  when  he  received  this  assurance,  he 
withdrew  the  tobacco  with  the  sort  of  mystifying 
simplicity  that  gets  to  be  a  second  nature  with  a 
regular  votary  of  Neptune,  and  answered  with  a 
coolness  of  manner  that  was  in  ludicrous  contrast  to 
the  affected  astonishment  of  the  words : — 

"  The  devil  you  did  !— Was  it  in  good  Dutch  ?" 

"  I  do  not  understand  much  of  the  language,"  said 
Mr.  Dodge  hesitatingly;  for  all  he  knew,  in  truth, 
was  yaw  and  nein,  and  neither  of  these  particularly 
well; — "but  it  looked  to  be  uncommonly  well  ex 
pressed.  I  could  do  no  more  than  pay  a  man  to 
translate  it.  But  to  return  to  this  affair  of  running 
in  among  the  Scilly  Islands  such  a  night  as  this." 

"Return,  my  good  fellow  !  this  is  the  first  syllable 
you  have  said* about  the  matter!" 

"  Concern  on  your  account  has  caused  me  to  for 
get  myself.  To  be  frank  with  you,  Captain  Truck, 
and  if  I  wer'n't  your  very  best  friend  I  should  be 
silent,  there  is  considerable  excitement  getting  up 
about  this  matter." 

"  Excitement !  what  is  that  like  ? — a  sort  of  moral 
head-sea,  do  you  mean?" 

"Precisely:  and  I  must  tell  you  the  truth,  though 
I  had  rather  a  thousand  times  not;  but  this  change 
in  the  ship's  course  is  monstrous  unpopular!" 

"  That  is  bad  news,  with  a  vengeance,  Mr.  Dodge  ; 
I  shall  rely  on  you,  as  an  old  friend,  to  get  up  an  op 
position." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  111 

"  My  dear  captain,  I  have  done  all  I  could  in  that 
way  already  ;  but  T  never  met  with  people  so  bent 
on  a  thing  as  most  of  the  passengers.  The  Effing- 
hams  are  very  decided,  though  so  purse-proud  and 
grand;  Sir  George  Templemore  declares  it  is  quite 
extraordinary,  and  even  the  French  lady  is  furious. 
To  be  as  sincere  as  the  crisis  demands,  public  opinion 
is  setting  so  strong  against  you,  that  I  expect  an  ex 
plosion." 

"  Well,  so  long  as  the  tide  sets  in  my  favour,  I 
must  endeavour  to  bear  it.  Stemming  a  current,  in 
or  out  of  water,  is  up-hill  work;  but  with  a  good 
bottom,  clean  copper,  and  plenty  of  wind,  it  may  be 
done." 

"  It  would  not  surprise  me  were  the  gentlemen  to 
appeal  to  the  general  sentiment  against  you  when 
we  arrive,  and  make  a  handle  of  it  against  your 
line !" 

"  It  may  be  so  indeed  ;  but  what  can  be  done  ?  If 
we  return,  the  Englishman  will  certainly  catch  us, 
and,  in  that  case,  my  own  opinion  would  be  dead 
against  me !" 

"Well,  well,  captain;  I  thought  as  a  friend  I 
would  speak  my  mind.  If  this  thing  should  really 
get  into  the  papers  in  America,  it  would  spread  like 
fire  in  the  prairies.  You  know  what  the  papers  are, 
I  trust,  Captain  Truck  '(" 

"  I  rather  think  I  do,  Mr.  Dodge,  with  many 
thanks  for  your  bints,  and  I  believe  I  know  what  the 
Scilly  Islands  are  too.  The  elections  will  be  nearly 
or  quite  over  by  the  time  we  get  in,  and,  thank  God, 
they'll  not  be  apt  to  make  a  party  question  of  it, 
this  fall  at  least.  In  the  mean  time  rely  on  my  keep 
ing  a  good  look-out  for  the  shoals  of  popularity,  and 
the  quicksands  of  excitement.  You  smoke  some 
times,  I  know,  and  I  can  recommend  this  cigar  as 
fit  to  regale  the  nose  of  that  chap  of  Strasbourg — 


112  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

you  read  your  Bible,  I  know,  Mr.  Dodge,  and  need 
not  be  told  whom  I  mean.  The  steward  will  be 
happy  to  give  you  a  light  on  deck,  sir." 

In  this  manner,  Captain  Truck,  with  the  sangfroid 
of  an  old  tar,  and  the  tact  of  a  packet-master,  got 
rid  of  his  troublesome  visiter,  who  departed,  half 
suspecting  that  he  had  been  quizzed,  but  still  rumi 
nating  on  the  expediency  of  getting  up  a  committee, 
or  at  least  a  public  meeting  in  the  cabin,  to  follow 
up  the  blow.  By  the  aid  of  the  latter,  could  he  but 
persuade  Mr.  Effingham  to  take  the  chair,  and  Sir 
George  Templemore  to  act  as  secretary,  he  thought 
he  might  escape  a  sleepless  night,  and,  what  was  of 
quite  as  much  importance,  make  a  figure  in  a  para 
graph  on  reaching  home. 

Mr.  Dodge,  whose  Christian  name,  thanks  to  a 
pious  ancestry,  was  Steadfast,  partook  of  the  quali 
ties  that  his  two  appellations  not  inaptly  expressed. 
There  was  a  singular  profession  of  steadiness  of  pur 
pose,  and  of  high  principle  about  him,  all  of  wh  -'h 
vanished  in  Dodge  at  the  close.  A  great  stickler  for 
the  rights  of  the  people,  he  never  considered  that  this 
people  was  composed  of  many  integral  parts,  but  lie 
viewed  all  things  as  gravitating  towards  the  great  ag 
gregation.  Majorities  were  his  hobbies,  and  though 
singularly  timid  as  an  individual,  or  when  in  the 
minority,  put  him  on  the  strongest  side  and  he  was 
ready  to  face  the  devil.  In  short,  Mr.  Dodge  was  a 
people's  man,  because  his  strongesj  desire,  his  "  am 
bition  and  his  pride,"  as  he  often  expressed  it,  was  to 
be  a  man  of  the  people.  In  his  particular  neighbour 
hood,  at  home,  sentiment  ran  in  veins,  like  gold  in 
the  mines,  or  in  streaks  of  public  opinion,  and  though 
there  might  be  three  or  four  of  these  public  senti 
ments,  so  long  as  each  had  its  party,  no  one  was 
afraid  to  avow  it ;  but  as  for  maintaining  a  notion 
that  was  not  thus  upheld,  there  was  a  savour  of 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  113 

aristocracy  about  it  that  would  damn  even  a  mathe 
matical  proposition,  though  regularly  solved  and 
proved.  So  much  and  so  long  had  Mr.  Dodge  re 
spired  a  moral  atmosphere  of  this  community-cha 
racter,  and  gregarious  propensity,  that  he  had,  in 
many  things,  lost  all  sense  of  his  individuality;  as 
much  so,  in  fact,  as  if  he  breathed  with  a  pair  of 
county  lungs,  ate  with  a  common  mouth,  drank  from 
the  town-pump,  and  slept  in  the  open  air. 

Such  a  man  was  not  very  likely  to  make  an  im 
pression  on  Captain  Truck,  one  accustomed  to  rely 
on  himself  alone,  in  the  face  of  warring  elements, 
and  who  knew  that  a  ship  could  not  safely  have 
more  than  a  single  will,  and  that  the  will  of  her 
master. 

The  accidents  of  life  could  scarcely  form  extremes 
of  character  more  remote  than  that  of  Steadfast 
Dodge  and  that  of  John  Truck.  The  first  never  did 
anything  beyond  acts  of  the  most  ordinary  kind, 
without  first  weighing  its  probable  effect  in  the 
neighbourhood;  its  popularity  or  unpopularity;  how 
it  might  tally  with  the  different  public  opinions  that 
were  whiffling  through  the  county ;  in  what  manner 
it  would  influence  the  next  election,  and  whether  it 
would  be  likely  to  elevate  him  or  depress  him  in  the 
public  mind.  No  Asiatic  slave  stood  more  in  terror 
of  a  vindictive  master  than  Mr.  Dodge  stood  in  fear 
and  trembling  before  the  reproofs,  comments,  cen 
sures,  frowns,  cavillings  and  remarks  of  every  man 
in  his  county,  who  happened  to  belong  to  the  political 
party  that  just  at  that  moment  was  in  power.  As  to 
the  minority,  he  was  as  brave  as  a  lion,  could  snap 
his  fingers  at  them,  and  was  foremost  in  deriding  and 
scoffing  at  all  they  said  and  did.  This,  however, 
was  in  connexion  with  politics  only;  for  the  instant 
party-drill  ceased  to  be  of  value,  Steadfast's  valour 
oozed  out  of  his  composition,  and  in  all  other  things 

0* 


114  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

he  dutifully  consulted  every  public  opinion  of  the 
neighbourhood.  This  estimable  man  had  his  weak 
points  as  well  as  another,  and  what  is  more,  he  was 
quite  sensible  of  them,  as  was  proved  by  a  most  jeal 
ous  watchfulness  of  his  besetting  sins,  in  the  way  of 
exposure  if  not  of  indulgence.  In  a  word,  Steadfast 
Dodge  was  a  man  that  wished  to  meddle  with  and 
control  all  things,  without  possessing  precisely  the 
spirit  that  was  necessary  to  leave  him  master  of  him 
self;  he  had  a  rabid  desire  for  the  good  opinion  of 
every  thing  human,  without  always  taking  the  means 
necessary  to  preserve  his  own  ;  was  a  stout  de- 
claimer  for  the  rights  of  the  community,  while  for 
getting  that  the  community  itself  is  but  a  means  set 
up  for  the  accomplishment  of  a  given  end  ;  and  felt 
an  inward  and  profound  respect  for  everything  that 
was  beyond  his  reach,  which  manifested  itself,  not  in 
manly  efforts  to  attain  the  forbidden  fruit,  but  rather 
in  a  spirit  of  opposition  and  detraction,  that  only  be 
trayed,  through  its  jealousy,  the  existence  .of  the 
feeling,  which  jealousy,  however,  he  affected  to  con 
ceal  under  an  intense  regard  for  popular  rights, 
since  he  was  apt  to  aver  it  was  quite  intolerable  that 
any  man  should  possess  anything,  even  to  qualities,  in 
which  his  neighbours  might  not  properly  participate. 
All  these,  moreover,  and  many  similar  traits,  Mr. 
Dodge  encouraged  in  the  spirit  of  liberty  ! 

On  the  other  hand,  John  Truck  sailed  his  own 
ship ;  was  civil  to  his  passengers  from  habit  as  well  as 
policy;  knew  that  every  vessel  must  have  a  captain  ; 
believed  mankind  to  be  little  better  than  asses ;  took 
his  ow7n  observations,  and  cared  not  a  straw  for 
those  of  his  mates;  was  never  more  bent  on  follow 
ing  his  own  views  than  when  all  hands  grumbled 
and  opposed  him;  was  daring  by  nature,  decided 
from  use  and  long  self-reliance,  and  was  every  way 
a  man  fitted  to  steer  his  bark  through  the  trackless 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  115 

ways  of  lite,  as  well  as  those  of  the  ocean.  It  was 
fortunate  for  one  in  his  particular  position,  that  na 
ture  had  made  the  possessor  of  so  much  self-will  and 
temporary  authority,  cool  and  sarcastic  rather  than 
hot-headed  and  violent,  and  for  this  circumstance 
Mr.  Dodge  in  particular  had  frequent  occasions  for 
felicitation. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

But  then  are  we  in  order,  when  we  are 
Most  out  of  order. 

Jack  Cade. 

DISAPPOINTED  in  his  private  appeal  to  the  captain's 
dread  of  popular  disapprobation,  Mr.  Dodge  returned 
to  his  secret  work  on  deck ;  for,  like  a  true  freeman 
of  the  exclusive  school,  this  person  never  presumed 
to  work  openly,  unless  sustained  by  a  clear  majority; 
canvassing  all  around  him,  and  striving  hard  to 
create  a  public  opinion,  as  he  termed  it,  on -his  side 
of  the  question,  by  persuading  his  hearers  that  every 
one  was  of  his  particular  way  of  thinking  already  ;  a 
method  of  exciting  a  feeling  much  practised  by  par 
tisans  of  his  school.  In  the  interval,  Captain  Truc|c 
was  working  up  his  day's  reckoning  by  himself,  hi 
his  own  state-room,  thinking  little,  and  caring  less, 
about  any  thing  but  the  results  of  his  figures,  which 
soon  convinced  him,  that  by  standing  a  few  hours 
longeron  his  present  course,  he  should  "plump  his 
ship  ashore"  somewhere  between  Falmouth  and  the 
Lizard. 

This  discovery  annoyed  the  worthy  master  so 
much  the  more,  on  account  of  the  suggestions  of  his, 
late  visitor;  for  nothing  could  be  less  to  his  taste 


1J6  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

than  to  have  the  appearance  of  altering  his  determi 
nation  under  a  menace.  Still  something  must  be 
done  before  midnight,  for  he  plainly  perceived  that 
thirty  or  forty  miles,  at  the  farthest,  would  fetch  up 
the  Monlauk,  on  her  present  course.  The  pas 
sengers  had  left  the  deck  to  escape  the  night  air,  and 
he  heard  the  Effinghams  inviting  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr. 
Blunt  into  the  ladies'  cabin,  which  had  been  taken 
expressly  for  their  party,  while  the  others  were  call 
ing  upon  the  stewards  for  the  usual  allowance  of  hot 
drinks,  at  the  dining-table  without.  The  talking  and 
noise  disturbed  him;  his  own  state-room  became  too 
confined,  and  he  went  on  deck  to  come  to  his  deci 
sion,  in  view  of  the  angry-looking  skies  and  the 
watery  waste,  over  which  he  was  called  to  prevail. 
Here  we  shall  leave  him,  pacing  the  quarter-deck,  in 
inoody  silence  alone,  too  much  disturbed  to  smoke 
even,  while  the  mate  of  the  watch  sat  in  the  mizen- 
rigging,  like  a  monkey,  keeping  a  look-out  to  wind 
ward  and  ahead.  In  the  mean  time,  we  will  return 
to  the  cabin  of  the  Effinghams. 

The  Montauk  was  one  of  the  noblest  of  those  sur 
passingly  beautiful  and  yacht-like  ships  that  now  ply 
between  the  two  hemispheres  in  such  numbers,  and 
in  which  luxury  and  the  fitting  conveniences  seem 
to  vie  with  each  other  for  the  mastery.  The  cabins 
were  lined  with  satin-wood  and  bird's-eye  maple  ; 
small  marble  columns  separated  the  glittering  panels 
of  polished  wood,  and  rich  carpets  covered  the 
floors.  The  main  cabin  had  the  great  table,  as  a 
fixture,  in  the  centre,  but  that  of  Eve,  somewhat 
shorter,  but  of  equal  width,  was  free  from  all  encum 
brance  of  the  sort.  It  had  its  sofas,  cushions,  mir 
rors,  stools,  tables,  and  an  upright  piano.  The  doors 
of  the  state-rooms,  and  other  conveniences,  opened 
on  its  sides  and  ends.  In  short,  it  presented,  at  that 
hour,  the  resemblance  of  a  tasteful  boudoir,  rather 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  117 

than  that  of  an  apartment  in  a  cramped  and  vulgar 
ship.. 

Here,  then,  all  who  properly  belonged  to  the  place 
were  assembled,  with  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt  as 
guests,  when  a  tap  at  the  door  announced  another 
visiter.  It  was  Mr.  Dodge,  begging  to  be  admitted 
on  a  matter  of  business.  Eve  smiled,  as  she  bowed 
assent  to  old  Nanny,  who  acted  as  her  groom  of  the 
chambers,  and  hastily  expressed  a  belief  that  her 
guest  must  have  come  with  a  proposal  to  form  a 
Dorcas  society. 

Although  Mr.  Dodge  was  as  bold  as  Ca3sar  in 
expressing  his  contempt  of  anything  but  popular 
sway,  he  never  came  into  the  presence  of  the  quiet 
and  well-bred  without  a  feeling  of  distrust  and  un 
easiness,  that  had  its  rise  in  the  simple  circumstance 
of  his  not  being  used  to  their  company.  Indeed, 
there  is  nothing  more  appalling,  in  general,  to  the 
vulgar  and  pretending,  than  the  simplicity  and  natu 
ral  ease  of  the  refined.  Their  own  notions  of  ele 
gance  lie  so  much  on  the  surface,  that  they  seem  at 
first  to  suspect  an  ambush,  and  it  is  probable  that, 
finding  so  much  repose  where,  agreeably  to  their 
preconceived  opinions,  all  ought  to  be  fuss  and  pre 
tension,  they  imagine  themselves  to  be  regarded  as 
intruders. 

Mr.  Effingham  gave  their  visiter  a  polite  recep 
tion,  and  one  that  was  marked  with  a  little  more  than 
the  usual  formality,  by  way  of  letting  it  be  under 
stood  that  the  apartment  was  private ;  a  precaution 
that  he  knew  was  very  necessary  in  associating  with 
tempers  like  those  of  Steadfast.  All  this  was  thrown 
away  on  Mr.  Dodge,  notwithstanding  every  other 
person  present  admired  the  tact  with  which  the  host 
kept  his  guest  at  a  distance,  by  extreme  attention, 
for  the  latter  fancied  so  much  ceremony  was  but  a 
homage  to  his  claims.  It  had  the  effect  to  put  him 


• 


118  HOMEWARD  . BOUND. 

on  his  o\vn  good  behaviour,  however,  and  of  sus 
pending  the  brusque  manner  in  which  he  had  intend 
ed  to  broach  his  subject.  As  every  body  waited  in 
calm  silence,  as  if  expecting  an  explanation  of  the 
cause  of  this  visit,  Mr.  Dodge  soon  felt  himself  con 
strained  to  say  something,  though  it  might  not  be 
quite  as  clear  as  he  could  wish. 

"  We  have  had  a  considerable  pleasant  time,  Miss 
Effingham,  since  we  sailed  from  Portsmouth,"  he  ob 
served  familiarly. 

Eve  bowed  her  assent,  determined  not  to  take  to 
herself  a  visit  that  did  violence  to  all  her  habits  and 
notions  of  propriety.  But  Mr.  Dodge  was  too  ob 
tuse  to  feel  the  hint  conveyed  in  mere  reserve  of 
manner. 

"It  would  have  been  more  agreeable,  I  allow,  had 
not  this  man-of-war  taken  it  into  her  head  to  follow 
us  in  this  unprecedented  manner."  Mr.  Dodge  was 
as  fond  of  his  dictionary  as  the  steward,  though  he 
belonged  to  the  political,  while  Saunders  merely  be 
came  the  polite  school  of  talkers.  "  Sir  George  calls 
it  a  most  *  uncomfortable  procedure.'  You  know  Sir 
George  Templemore,  without  doubt,  Miss  Effing- 
ham  f" 

"  I  am  aware  there  is  a  person  of  that  name  on 
board,  sir,"  returned  Eve,  who  recoiled  from  this  fa 
miliarity  with  the  sensitiveness  with  which  a  well- 
educated  female  distinguishes  between  one  who  ap 
preciates  her  character  and  one  who  does  not;  "but 
have  never  had  the  honour  of  his  acquaintance." 

Mr.  Dodge  thought  all  this  extraordinary,  for  he 
had  witnessed  Captain  Truck's  introduction,  and  did 
not  understand  how  people  \vho  had  sailed  twenty- 
four  hours  in  the  same  ship,  and  had  been  fairly  in 
troduced,  should  not  be  intimate.  As  for  himself,  he 
fancied  he  was,  what  he  termed,  "  well  acquainted" 
with  the  Effinghams,  from  having  talked  of  them  a 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  119 

great  deal  ignorantly,  and  not  a  little  maliciously ;  a 
liberty  he  felt  himself  fully  entitled  to  take,  from  the 
circumstance  of  residing  in  the  same  county,  al 
though  he  had  never  spoken  to  one  of  the  family, 
until  accident  placed  him  in  their  company  on  board 
the  same  vessel. 

"Sir  George  is  a  gentleman  of  great  accomplish 
ments,  Miss  Effingham,  I  assure  you;  a  man  of  un 
qualified  merit.  We  have  the  same  state-room,  for 
I  like  company,  and  prefer  chatting  a  little  in  my 
berth  to  being  always  asleep.  He  is  a  baronet,  I 
suppose  you  know, — not  that  I  care  anything  for 
titles,  all  men  being  equal  in  truth,  though — 
though " 

" — Unequal  in  reality,  sir,  you  probably  meant  to 
add,"  observed  John  Effingham,  who  was  lolling  on 
Eve's  workstand,  his  eagle-shaped  face  fairly  curling 
with  the  contempt  he  felt,  and  which  he  hardly  cared 
to  conceal. 

"  Surely  not,  sir !"  exclaimed  the  terrified  Stead 
fast,  looking  furtively  about,  lest  some  active  enemy 
might  be  at  hand  to  quote  this  unhappy  remark  to  his 
prejudice.  "  Surely  not !  men  are  every  way  equal, 
and  no  one  can  pretend  to  be  better  than  another. 
No,  no, — it  is  nothing  to  me  that  Sir  George  is  a  ba 
ronet;  though  one  would  prefer  having  a  gentleman 
in  the  same  state-room  to  having  a  coarse  fellow. 
Sir  George  thinks,  sir,  that  the  ship  is  running  into 
great  danger  by  steering  for  the  land  in  so  dark  a 
night,  and  in  such  dirty  weather.  He  has  many  out- 
of-the-way  expressions,  Sir  George,  I  must  admit,  for 
one  of  his  rank;  he  calls  the  weather  dirty,  and  the 
proceedings  uncomfortable;,  modes  of  expression, 
gentlemen,  to  which  I  give  an  unqualified  disappro 
bation/' 

"Probably   Sir  George  would    attach   more   im- 


I 

120  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

portance  to  a  qualified  disapprobation,"  retorted  John 
Effingham. 

"Quite  likely,"  returned  "Mr.  Dodge  innocently, 
though  the  two  other  visiters,  Eve  and  Mademoiselle 
Viefville  permitted  slight  muscular  movements  ahout 
the  lips  to  be  seen :  "  Sir  George  is  quite  an  original 
in  his  way.  We  have  few  originals  in  our  part  of 
the  country,  you  know,  Mr.  John  Effingham;  for  to 
say  the  truth,  it  is  rather  unpopular  to  differ  from 
the  neighbourhood,  in  this  or  any  other  respect.  Yes, 
sir,  the  people  will  rule,  and  ought  to  rule.  Still,  I 
think  Sir  George  may  get  along  well  enough  as  a 
stranger,  for  it  is  not  quite  as  unpopular  in  a  stran 
ger  to  be  original,  as  in  a  native.  I  think  you  will 
agree  with  me,  sir,  in  believing  it  excessively  pre 
suming  in  an  American  to  pretend  to  be  different 
from  his  fehow-citizens." 

"  No  one,  sir,  could  entertain  such  presumption,  I 
am  persuaded,  in  your  case." 

"No,  sir,  I  do  not  speak  from  personal  motives: 
but  on  the  great  general  principles,  that  are  to  be 
maintained  for  the  good  of  mankind.  I  do  not  know 
that  any  man  has  a  right  to  be  peculiar  in  a  free 
country.  It  is  aristocratic,  and  has  an  air  of  think 
ing  one  man  is  better  than  another.  I  am  sure  Mr. 
Effingham  cannot  approve  of  it?" 

"  Perhaps  not.  Freedom  has  many  arbitrary  laws 
that  it  will  not  do  to  violate." 

"Certainly,  sir,  or  where  would  be  its  supremacy. 
If  the  people  cannot  control  and  look  down  pecu 
liarity,  or  any  thing  they  dislike,  one  might  as  well 
live  in  a  despotism  at  once." 

"As  I  have  resided  much  abroad,  of  late  year's, 
Mr.  Dodge,"  inquired  Eve,  who  was  fearful  her  kins 
man  would  give  some  cut  that  wrould  prove  to  be  past 
bearing,  as  she  saw  his  eye  was  menacing,  and  who 
felt  a  disposition  to  be  amused  at  the  other's  philoso- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  131 

phy,  that  overcame  the  attraction  of  repulsion  she 
had  at  first  experienced  towards  him — "  will  you  fa 
vour  me  with  some  of  those  great  principles  of  li 
berty  of  which  I  hear  so  much,  but  which,  I  fear, 
have  been  overlooked  by  my  European  instructors..?" 

Mademoiselle  Vicfville  looked  grave:  Messrs. 
Sharp  and  Blunt  delighted ;  Mr.  Dodge,  himself, 
mystified. 

"  I  should  feel  myself  little  able  to  instruct  Miss 
Effingham  on  such  a  subject,"  the  latter  modestly 
replied,  "  as  no  doubt  she  has  seen  too  much  miserv 
in  the  nations  she  has  visited,  not  to  appreciate  justly 
all  the  advantages  of  that  happy  country  which  has 
the  honour  of  claiming  her  for  one  of  its  fair  daugh 
ters." 

Eve  was  terrified  at  her  own  temerity,  for  she  was 
far  from  anticipating  so  high  a  flight  of  eloquence  in 
return  for  her  own  simple  request,  but  it  was  too  late 
to  retreat. 

"None  of  the  many  illustrious  and  god-like  men 
that  our  own  beloved  land  has  produced  can  pretend 
to  more  zeal  in  its  behalf  than  myself,  but  I  fear  my 
abilities  to  do  it  justice  will  fall  far  short  of  the  sub 
ject,"  he  continued.  "  Liberty,  as  you  know,  Miss 
Effingham,  as  you  wrell  know,  gentlemen,  is  a  boon 
that  merits  our  unqualified  gratitude,  and  which  calls 
for  our  daily  and  hourly  thanks  to  the  gallant  spirits 
\vho,  in  the  days  that  tried  men's  souls,  were  fore 
most  in  the  tented  field,  and  in  the  councils  of  the 
nation." 

John  Effingham  turned  a  glance  at  Eve  that  seem 
ed  to  tell  her  how  unequal  she  was  to  the  task  she 
had  undertaken,  and  which  promised  a  rescue,  with 
her  consent;  a  condition  that  the  young  lady  most 
gladly  complied  with  in  the  same  silent  but  expres 
sive  manner. 

"  Of  all  this  my  young  kinswoman  is  properly  sen- 

VOL.  i.  11 


122  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

sible,  Mr.  Dodge,"  he  said  by  way  of  diversion ;  "  but 
she,  and  I  confess  myself,  have  some  little  perplexity 
on  the  subject  of  what  this  liberty  is,  about  which 
so  much  has  been  said  and  written  in  our  time.  Per 
mit  me  to  inquire,  if  you  understand  by  it  a  perfect 
independence  of  thought,  action,  and  rights?" 

"Equal  laws,  equal  rights,  equality  in  all  respects, 
and  pure,  abstract,  unqualified  liberty,  beyond  all 
question,  sir." 

"What,  a  power  in  the  strong  man  to  beat  the 
little  man,  and  to  take  away  his  dinner?" 

"  By  no  means,  sir ;  Heaven  forbid  that  I  should 
maintain  any  such  doctrine  !  It  means  entire  liberty : 
no  kings,  no  aristocrats,  no  exclusive  privileges ;  but 
one  man  as  good  as  another !" 

"  Do  you  understand,  then,  that  one  man  is  as  good 
as  another,  under  our  system,  Mr.  Dodge?" 

"  Unqualifiedly  so,  sir ;  I  am  amazed  that  such  a 
question  should  be  put  by  a  gentleman  of  your  in 
formation,  in  an  age  like  this !" 

"  If  one  man  is  as  good  as  another,"  said  Mr. 
Blunt,  who  perceived  that  John  Effingham  was  biting 
his  lips,  a  sign  that  something  more  biting  would  fol 
low, — "  will  you  do  me  the  favour  to  inform  me,  why 
the  country  puts  itself  to  the  trouble  and  expense  of 
the  annual  elections?" 

"  Elections,  sir  !  In  what  manner  could  free  insti 
tutions  flourish,  or  be  maintained  without  constantly 
appealing  to  the  people,  the  only  true  sources  of 
power  ?" 

"  To  this  I  make  no  objections,  Mr.  Dodge,"  re 
turned  the  young  man,  smiling ;  "  but  why  an  elec 
tion  ;  if  one  man  is  as  good  as  another,  a  lottery 
would  be  cheaper,  easier,  and  sooner  settled.  Why 
an  election,  or  even  a  lottery  at  all  ?  why  not  choose 
the  President  as  the  Persians  chose  their  king,  by 
the  neighing  of  a  horse  ?" 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  123 

"  This  would  be  indeed  an  extraordinary  mode  of 
proceeding  for  an  intelligent  and  virtuous  people,  Mr. 
Blunt;  and  I  must  take  the  liberty  of  saying  that  1 
suspect  you  of  pleasantry.  If  you  wish  an  answer, 
I  will  say,  at  once,  by  such  a  process  we  might  get 
a  knave,  or  a  fool,  or  a  traitor." 

"  How,  Mr.  Dodge  !  I  did  not  expect  this  charac 
ter  of  the  country  from  you!  Are  the  Americans, 
then,  all  fools,  or  knaves,  or  traitors'?" 

"  If  you  intend  to  travel  much  in  our  country,  sir, 
I  would  advise  great  caution  in  throwing  out  such  an 
insinuation,  for  it  would  be  apt  to  meet  with  a  very 
general  and  unqualified  disapprobation.  Americans 
are  enlightened  and  free,  and  as  far  from  deserving 
these  epithets  as  any  people  on  earth." 

"  And  yet  the  fact  follows  from  your  own  theory. 
If  one  man  is  as  good  as  another,  and  any  one  of 
them  is  a  fool,  or  a  knave,  or  a  traitor, — all  are 
knaves,  or  fools,  or  traitors  !  The  insinuation  is  not 
mine,  but  it  follows,  I  think,  inevitably,  as  a  conse 
quence  of  your  own  proposition." 

In  the  pause  that  succeeded,  Mr.  Sharp  said  in  a 
low  voice  to  Eve,  "  He  is  an  Englishman,  after  all !" 

"  Mr.  Dodge  does  not  mean  that  one  man  is  as 
good  as  another  in  that  particular  sense,"  Mr.  Effing- 
ham  kindly  interposed,  in  his  quality  of  host;  "his 
views  are  less  general,  I  fancy,  than  his  words  would 
give  us,  at  first,  reason  to  suppose." 

"  Very  true,  Mr.  Effingham,  very  true,  sir ;  one 
man  is  not  as  good  as  another  in  that  particular 
sense,  or  in  the  sense  of  elections,  but  in  all  other 
senses.  Yes,  sir,"  turning  towards  Mr.  Blunt  again, 
as  one  renews  the  attack  on  an  antagonist,  who  has 
given  a  fall,  after  taking  breath;  "  in  all  other  senses, 
one  man  is  unqualifiedly  as  good  as  another.  One 
man  has  the  same  rights  as  another." 

"  The  slave  as  the  freeman  ?" 


121  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  The  slaves  arc  exceptions,  sir.  But  in  the  i'rce 
slates,  except  in  the  case  of  elections,  one  man  is  as 
good  as  another  in  all  things.  That  is  our  meaning, 
and  any  other  principle  would  be-  unqualifiedly  un 
popular." 

"Can  one  man  make  a  shoe  as  well  as  another?" 

"  Of  rights,  sir, — I  stick  to  the  rights,  you  will  re 
member." 

"Has  the  minor  the  same  rights  as  the  man  of  full 
age;  the  apprentice  as  the  master;  the  vagabond  as 
the  resident;  the  man  who  cannot  pay  as  the  man 
who  can  ?" 

"No, sir,  not  in  that  sense  cither.  You  do  not  un 
derstand  me,  sir,  I  fear.  All  that  1  mean  is,  that  in 
particular  things,  one  man  is  as  good  as  another  in 
America.  This  is  American  doctrine,  though  it  may 
riot  happen  to  be  English,  and  1  Hatter  myself  it  will 
stand  the  test  of  the  strictest  investigation." 

"  And  you  will  allow  me  to  inquire  where  this  is 
uot  the  case,  in  particular  things.  If  you  mean  to 
say  that  there  are  fewer  privileges  accorded  to  the 
accidents  of  birth,  or  to  fortune  and  station  in  Ame 
rica,  than  is  usual  in  other  countries,  we  shall  agree  ; 
but  I  think  it  will  hardly  do  to  say  there  arc  none !" 

"Privileges  accorded  to  birth  in  America,  sir! 
The  idea  would  be  odious  to  her  people!" 

"Does  not  the  child  inherit  the  property  of  the 
father!" 

"Most  assuredly;  but  this  can  hardly  be  termed 
a  privilege." 

"  That  may  depend  a  good  deal  on  taste.  I  should 
account  it  a  greater  privilege,  than  to  inherit  a  title 
without  the  fortune." 

"  I  perceive,  gentlemen,  that  we  do  not  perfectly 
understand  each  other,  and  I  must  postpone  the  dis 
cussion  to  a  more  favourable  opportunity  ;  for  I  con 
fess  great  uneasiness  at  this  decision  of  the  captain's-, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  125 

about  steering  in  among  the  rocks  of  Scilla."  (Mr. 
Dodge  was  not  as  clear-headed  as  common,  in  con 
sequence  of  the  controversy  that  had  just  occurred.) 
"  I  challenge  you  to  renew  the  subject  another  time, 
gentlemen.  I  only  happened  in"  (another  peculiarity 
of  diction  in  this  gentleman)  "to  make  a  first  call, 
for  I  suppose  there  is  no  exclusion  in  an  American 
ship  ?" 

"  None  whatever,  sir,"  Mr.  John  Effingham  coldly 
answered.  "All  the  state  rooms  are  in  common, 
and  I  propose  to  seize  an  early  occasion  to  return 
this  compliment,  by  making  myself  at  home  in  the 
apartment  which  has  the  honour  to  lodge  Mr.  Dodge 
and  Sir  George  Templemore." 

Here  Mr.  Dodge  beat  a  retreat,  without  touching 
at  all  on  his  real  errand.  Instead  of  even  following 
up  the  matter  with  the  other  passengers,  he  got  into 
a  corner,  with  one  or  two  congenial  spirits,  who  had 
taken  great  offence  that  the  Effinghams  should  pre 
sume  to  retire  into  their  cabin,  and  particularly  that 
they  should  have  the  extreme  aristocratical  audacity 
to  shut  the  door,  where  he  continued  pouring  into  the 
greedy  ears  of  his  companions  his  own  history  of 
the  recent  dialogue,  in  which,  according  to  his  own 
account  of  the  matter,  he  had  completely  gotten  the 
better  of  that  "young  upstart,  Blunt,"  a  man  of 
whom  he  knew  positively  nothing,  divers  anecdotes 
of  the  Effingham  family,  that  came  of  the  lowest  and 
most  idle  gossip  of  rustic  malignancy,  and  his  own 
vague  and  confused  notions  of  the  rights  of  persons 
and  of  things.  Very  different  was  the  conversation 
that  ensued  in  the  ladies'  cabin,  after  the  welcome 
disappearance  of  the  uninvited  guest.  Not  a  remark 
of  any  sort  was  made  on  his  intrusion,  or  on  his 
folly  ;  even  John  Effingham,  little  addicted  in  com 
mon  to  forbearance,  being  too  proud  to  waste  his 
breath  on  so  low  game,  and  too  well  taught  to  open 

11* 


HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

upon  a  man  the  moment  his  back  was  turned.  But 
the  subject  \vas  continued,  and  in  a  manner  better 
suited  to  the  education,  intelligence,  and  views  of  the 
several  speakers. 

Eve  said  but  little,  though  she  ventured  to  ask  a 
question  now  and  then;  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt 
being  the  principal  supporters  of  the  discourse,  with 
an  occasional  quiet,  discreet  remark  from  the  young 
lady's  father,  arid  a  sarcasm,  now  and  then,  from 
John  Erfingham.  Mr.  Blunt,  though  advancing  his 
opinions  with  diffidence,  and  with  a  proper  deference 
for  the  greater  experience  of  the  two  elder  gentle 
men,  soon  made  his  superiority  apparent,  the  subject 
proving  to  be  one  on  which  he  had  evidently  thought 
a  great  deal,  and  that  too  with  a  discrimination  and 
originality  that  are  far  from  common. 

He  pointed  out  the  errors  that  are  usually  made 
on  the  subject  of  the  institutions  of  the  American 
Union,  by  confounding  the  effects  of  the  general  go 
vernment  with  those  of  the  separate  states ;  and  he 
clearly  demonstrated  that  the  Confederation  itself 
had,  in  reality,  no  distinctive  character  of  its  own, 
even  for,  or  against  liberty.  It  was  a  confederation, 
and  got  its  character  from  the  characters  of  its  seve 
ral  parts,  which  of  themselves  were  independent  in 
all  things,  on  the  important  point  of  distinctive  prin 
ciples,  with  the  exception  of  the  vague  general  pro 
vision  that  they  must  be  republics ;  a  provision  that 
meant  anything,  or  nothing,  so  far  as  true  liberty- 
was  concerned,  as  each  state  might  decide  for  itself. 

"  The  character  of  the  American  government  is  to 
be  sought  in  the  characters  of  the  state  governments," 
he  concluded,  "  which  vary  with  their  respective  po 
licies.  It  is  in  this  way  that  communities  that  hold 
one  half  of  their  numbers  in  domestic  bondage  are 
found  tied  up  in  the  same  political  fasces  with  other 
communities  of  the  most  democratic  institutions.  The 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  127 

general  government  assures  neither  liberty  of  speech, 
liberty  of  conscience,  action,  nor  of  anything  else, 
except  as  against  itself;  a  provision  that  is  quite  un 
necessary,  as  it  is  purely  a  government  of  delegated 
powers,  and  has  no  authority  to  act  at  all  on  these 
interests." 

"This  is  very  different  from  the  general  impres 
sion  in  Europe,"  observed  Mr.  Sharp;  "and  as  I 
perceive  I  have  the  good  fortune  to  be  thrown  into  the 
society  of  an  American,  if  not  an  American  lawyer, 
able  to  enlighten  my  ignorance  on  these  interesting 
topics,  I  hope  to  be  permitted,  during  some  of  the 
idle  moments,  of  which  we  are  likely  to  have  many, 
to  profit  by  it." 

The  other  coloured,  bowed  to  the  compliment,  but 
appeared  to  hesitate  before  he  answered. 
.  "'Tis  not  absolutely  necessary  to  be  an  American 
by  birth,"  he  said,  "as  I  have  already  had  occasion 
to  observe,  in  order  to  understand  the  institutions  of 
the  country,  and  I  might  possibly  mislead  you  were 
you  to  fancy  that  a  native  was  your  instructer.  I 
have  often  been  in  the  country,  however,  if  not  born 
in  it,  and  few  young  men,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlan 
tic,  have  had  their  attention  pointed,  with  so  much 
earnestness,  to  all  that  affects  it  as  myself." 

"  I  was  in  hopes  we  had  the  honour  of  including 
you  among  our  countrymen,"  observed  John  Effing- 
ham,  with  evident  disappointment.  "  So  many  young 
men  come  abroad  disposed  to  quarrel  with  foreign 
excellences,  of  which  they  know  nothing,  or  to  con 
cede  so  many  of  our  own,  in  the  true  spirit  of  ser- 
viles,  that  I  was  flattering  myself  I  had  at  last  found 
an  exception." 

Eve  also  felt  regret,  though  she  hardly  avowed  to 
herself  the  reason  why.  / 

"He  is,  then,  an  Englishman,  after  all !"  said  Mr. 
Sharp,  in  another  aside. 


128  HOMEWARD    BOUND, 

"  Why  not  a  German — or  a  Swiss — or  even  a 
Russian  ?" 

"  His  English  is  perfect ;  no  continental  could 
speak  so  fluently,  with  such  a  choice  of  words,  so 
totally  without  an  accent,  without  an  effort.  As 
Mademoiselle  Viefville  says,  he  does  not  speak 
well  enough  for  a  foreigner." 

Eve  was  silent,  for  she  was  thinking  of  the  singu 
lar  manner  in  which  a  conversation  so  oddly  com 
menced,  had  brought  about  an  explanation  on  a  point 
that  had  often  given  her  many  doubts.  Twenty  times 
had  she  decided  in  her  own  mind  that  this  young 
man,  whom  she  could  properly  call  neither  stranger 
nor  acquaintance,  was  a  countryman,  and  as  often 
had  she  been  led  to  change  her  opinion.  He  had 
now  been  explicit,  she  thought,  and  she  felt  compelled 
to  set  him  down  as  a  European,  though  not  disposed, 
still,  to  believe  he  was  an  Englishman.  For  this  lat 
ter  notion,  she  had  reasons  it  might  not  have  done 
to  give  to  a  native  of  the  island  they  had  just  left, 
as  she  knew  to  be  the  fact  with  Mr.  Sharp. 

Music  succeeded  this  conversation,  Eve  having 
taken  the  precaution  to  have  the  piano  tuned  before 
quitting  port,  an  expedient  we  would  recommend  to 
all  who  have  a  regard  for  the  instrument  that  ex 
tends  beyond  its  outside,  or  even  for  their  own  ears. 
John  Effingharn  executed  brilliantly  on  the  violin; 
and,  as  it  appeared  on  inquiry,  the  two  younger  gen 
tlemen  performed  respectably  on  the  flute,  flageolet, 
and  one  or  two  other  wind  instruments.  We  shall 
leave  them  doing  great  justice  to  Beethoven,  Rossini, 
and  Mayerbeer,  whose  compositions  Mr.  Dodge  did 
not  fail  to  sneer  at  in  the  outer  cabin,  as  affected  and 
altogether  unworthy  of  attention,  and  return  on  deck 
to  the  company  of  the  anxious  master. 

Captain  Truck  had  continued  to  pace  the  deck 
moodily  and  alone,  during  the  whole  evening,  and 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  129 

ho  only  seemed  to  come  to  a  recollection  of  himself 
when  the  relief  passed  him  on  his  way  to  the  wheel, 
at  eight  bells.  Inquiring  the  hour,  he  got  into  the 
mizcn  rigging,  with  a  night-glass,  and  swept  the  ho 
rizon  in  search  of  the  Foam.  Nothing  could  be 
made  out,  the  darkness  having  settled  upon  the  water 
in  a  way  to  circumscribe  the  visible  horizon  to  very 
narrow  limits. 

"  This  may  do,"  lie  muttered  to  himself,  as  he 
swung  oil*  by  a  rope,  and  alighted  again  on  the 
planks  of  the  deck.  Mr.  Leach  was  summoned,  and 
an  order  was  passed  for  the  relieved  watch  to  re 
main  on  deck  for  duly. 

When  all  was  ready,  the  first  mate  went  through 
the  ship,  seeing  that  all  the  candles  were  extinguish 
ed,  or  that  the  hoods  were  drawn  over  the  sky 
lights,  in  such  a  way  as  to  conceal  any  rays  that 
might  gleam  upwards  from  the  cabin.  At  the  same 
time  attention  was  paid  to  the  bhirraele-lamp.  This 
precaution  observed,  the  people  went  to  work  to  re 
duce  the  sail,  and  in  the  course  of  twenty  minutes 
they  had  got  in  the  studding-sails,  and  all  the  stand 
ing  canvass  to  the  topsails,  the  fore-course,  and  a 
forward  staysail.  The  three  topsails  were  then  reef 
ed,  with  sundry  urgent  commands  to  the  crew  to  be 
active,  for,  "  The  Englishman  was  coming  up  like  a 
horse,  all  this  time,  no  doubt." 

This  much  effected,  the  hands  returned  on  deck, 
as  much  amazed  at  the  several  arrangements  as  if 
the  order  had  been  to  cut  away  the  masts. 

"If  we  had  a  few  guns,  and  were  a  little  stronger- 
handed/7  growled  an  old  salt  to  the  second-mate,  as 
he  hitched  up  his  trousers  and  rolled  over  his  quid, 
"I  should  think  the  hard  one,  aft,  had  been  stripping 
for  a  fight ;  but  as  it  is,  we  have  nothing  to  carry  on 
the  war  with,  unless  we  throw  sea-biscuits  into  the 
enemy !" 


130  PIOMEVVARD    BOUND, 

"Stand  by  to  veer!91  called  out  the  captain  from 
the  quarter-deck,  or,  as  he  pronounced  it,  "  ware." 

The  men  sprang  to  the  braces,  and  the  bows  of  the 
ship  fell  off  gradually,  as  the  yards  yielded  slowly  to 
the  drag.  In  a  minute  the  Montauk  was  rolling  dead 
before  it,  and  her  broadside  came  sweeping  up  to  the 
wind  with  the  ship's  head  to  the  eastward.  This 
new  direction  in  the  course  had  the  double  effect  of 
hauling  off  the  land,  and  of  diverging  at  more  than 
right  angles  from  the  line  of  sailing  of  the  Foam,  if 
that  ship  still  continued  in  pursuit.  The  seamen  nod 
ded  their  heads  at  each  other  in  approbation,  for  all 
now  as  well  understood  the  meaning  of  the  change 
as  if  it  had  been  explained  to  them  verbally. 

The  revolution  on  deck  produced  as  sudden  a  re 
volution  below.  The  ship  was  no  longer  running 
easily  on  an  even  keel,  but  was  pitching  violently  into 
a  head-beating  sea,  and  the  wind,  which  a  few  mi 
nutes  before,  was  scarcely  felt  to  blow,  was  now 
whistling  its  hundred  strains  among  the  cordage. 
Some  sought  their  berths,  among  whom  were  Mr. 
Sharp  and  Mr.  Dodge ;  some  hurried  up  the 
stairs  to  learn  the  reason,  and  all  broke  up  their  avo 
cations  for  the  night. 

Captain  Truck  had  the  usual  number  of  questions 
to  answer,  which  he  did  in  the  following  succinct 
and  graphic  manner,  a  reply  that  we  hope  w7ill  prove 
as  satisfactory  to  the  reader,  as  it  was  made,  to  be 
perforce,  satisfactory  to  the  curious  on  board. 

'*  Had  we  stood  on  an  hour  longer,  gentlemen, 
we  should  have  been  lost  on  the  coast  of  Cornwall !" 
he  said,  pithily :  "  had  wre  stopped  where  we  were, 
the  sloop-of-war  would  have  been  down  upon  us  in 
twenty  minutes:  by  changing  the  course,  in  the  way 
you  have  seen-,  he  may  got  to  leeward  of  us  ;  if  he 
find  it  out,  he  may  change  his  own  course,  in  the 
dark,  being  as  likely  to  go  wrong  as  to  go  right ;  or 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  131 

he  may  stand  in,  and  set  up  the  ribs  of  his  majesty's 
ship  Foam  to  dry  among  the  rocks  of  the  Lizard, 
where  I  hope  all  her  people  will  get  safely  ashore, 
dry  shod." 

After  waiting  the  result  anxiously  for  an  hour,  the 
passengers  retired  to  their  rooms  one  by  one ;  but 
Captain  Truck  did  not  quit  the  deck  until  the  middle 
watch  was  set.  Paul  Blunt  heard  him  enter  his  state 
room,  which  was  next  to  his  own,  and  putting  out 
his  head,  he  inquired  the  news  above.  The  worthy 
master  had  discovered  something  about  this  young 
man  which  created  a  respect  for  his  nautical  infor 
mation,  for  he  never  misapplied  a  term,  and  he  in 
variably  answered  all  his  questions  promptly,  and 
with  respect. 

"  Dirtier,  and  dirtier,"  he  said,  in  defiance  of  Mr. 
Dodge's  opinion  of  the  phrase,  pulling  off  his  pee- 
jacket,  and  laying  aside  his  so'-wester ;"  a  cap-full 
of  wind,  with  just  enough  drizzle  to  take  the  com 
fort  out  of  a  man,  and  lacker  him  down  like  a  boot." 

"  The  ship  has  gone  about?" 

"  Like  a  dancing-master  with  two  toes.  We  have 
got  her  head  to  the  southward  and  westward  again  ; 
another  reef  in  the  topsails,"  (which  word  Mr.  Truck 
pronounced  tawsails,  with  great  unction,)  "  England 
well  under  our  lee,  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  right  be 
fore  us.  Six  hours  on  this  course,  and  we  make  a 
fair  wind  of  it." 

"  And  the  sloop  ?" 

"  Well,  Mr.  Blunt,  I  can  give  no  direct  account  of 
her.  She  has  dropped  in  along-shore,  I  suspect, 
where  she  is  clawing  off,  like  a  boy  climbing  a  hil 
lock  of  ice  on  his  hands  and  knees  ;  or  is  flying 
about  among  the  other  foam,  somewhere  in  the  lati 
tude  of  the  Lizard.  An  easy  pillow  to  you,  Mr. 
Blunt,  and  no  tacking  till  the  first  nap's  up." 

"  And  the  poor  wretches  in  the  Foam  ?" 

"  Why,  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  their  souls !" 


132  HOMKWARD    IJOUND. 

- 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  moon  was  now 

Rising  full  orbed,  but  broken  by  a  cloud. 
The  wind  was  hushed,  and  the  sea  mirror-like. 

Italy. 

MOST  of  the  passengers  appeared  on  deck  soon 
after  Saunders  was  again  heard  rattling  among  his 
glasses.  The  day  was  sufficiently  advanced  to  allow 
a  distinct  view  of  all  that  was  passing,  and  the  wind 
had  shifted.  The  change  had  not  occurred  more 
than  ten  minutes,  and  as  most  of  the  inmates  of  the 
cabin  poured  up  the  cabin-stairs  nearly  in  a  body, 
Mr.  Leach  had  just  got  through  with  the  necessary 
operation  of  bracing  the  yards  about,  for  the  breeze, 
which  was  coming  stiff,  now  blew  from  the  north 
east.  No  land  was  visible,  and  the  mate  was  just 
giving  his  opinion  that  they  were  up  with  Scilly, 
as  Captain  Truck  appeared  in  the  group. 

One  glance  aloft,  and  another  at  the  heavens  suf 
ficed  to  let  the  experienced  master  into  all  the  secrets 
of  his  present  situation.  His  next  step  was  to  jump 
into  the  rigging,  and  to  take  a  look  at  the  sea,  in  the 
direction  of  the  Lizard.  There,  to  his  extreme  dis 
appointment,  appeared  a  ship  with  everything  set 
that  would  draw,  and  with  a  studding-sail  flapping, 
before  it  could  be  drawn  down,  which  he  knew  in 
an  instant  to  be  the  Foam.  At  this  spectacle  Mr. 
Truck  compressed  his  lips,  and  made  an  inward  im 
precation,  that  it  would  ill  comport  with  our  notions 
of  propriety  to  repeat. 

"  Turn  the  hands  up  and  shake  out  the  reefs,  sir," 
he  said  coolly  to  his  mate,  for  it  was  a  standing  rule 
of  the  captain's  to  seem  calmest  when  he  was  in  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  133 

greatest  rage.  "  Turn  them  up,  sir,  and  show  every 
rag  that  will  draw,  from  the  truck  to  the  lower  stud 
ding-sail  boom,  and  be  d — d  to  them  !" 

On  this  hint  Mr.  Leach  bestirred  himself,  and  the 
men  were  quickly  on  the  yards,  casting  loose  gaskets 
and  reef-points.  Sail  opened  after  sail,  and  as  the 
steerage  passengers,  who  could  show  a  force  of 
thirty  or  forty  men,  aided  with  their  strength,  the 
Montauk  was  soon  running  dead  before  the  wind, 
under  every  thing  that  would  draw,  and  with  stud 
ding-sails  on  both  sides.  The  mates  looked  surpri 
sed,  the  seamen  cast  inquiring  glances  aft,  but  Mr. 
Truck  lighted  a  cigar. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  the  captain,  after  a  few  philo 
sophical  whiffs,  "  to  go  to  America  with  yonder  fel 
low  on  my  weather  beam  is  quite  out  of  the  question: 
he  would  be  up  with  me,  and  in  possession,  before 
ten  o'clock,  and  my  only  play  is  to  bring  the  wind 
right  over  the  taffrail,  where,  luckily,  we  have  got  it. 
I  think  we  can  bother  him  at  this  sport,  for  your 
sharp  bottoms  are  not  as  good  as  your  kettle-bottoms 
in  ploughing  a  full  furrow.  As  for  bearing  her  can 
vass,  the  Montauk  will  stand  it  as  long  as  any  ship 
in  King  William's  navy,  before  the  gale.  And  on 
one  thing  you  may  rely;  I  '11  carry  you  all  into  Lis 
bon,  before  that  tobacco-hating  rover  shall  carry  you 
back  to  Portsmouth.  This  is  a  category  to  which  I 
will  stick." 

This  characteristic  explanation  served  to  let  the 
passengers  understand  the  real  state  of  the  case.  No 
one  remonstrated,  for  all  preferred  a  race  to  being 
taken ;  and  even  the  Englishmen  on  board  began 
again  to  take  sides  with  the  vessel  they  were  in,  and 
this  the  more  readily,  as  Captain  Truck  freely  admit 
ted  that  their  cruiser  was  too  much  for  him  on  every 
tack  but  the  one  he  was  about  to  try.  Mr.  Sharp 
hoped  that  they  might  now  escape,  and  as  for  Sir 

VOL.  i.  12 


134  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

George  Templemore,  h£  generously  repeated  his 
offer  to  pay,  out  of  his  own  pocket,  all  the  port- 
charges  in  any  French,  Spanish,  or  Portuguese  har 
bour,  the  master  would  enter,  rather  than  see  such 
an  outrage  done  a  foreign  vessel  in  a  time  of  pro 
found  peace. 

The  expedient  of  Captain  Truck  proved  his  judg 
ment,  and  his  knowledge  of  his  profession.  Within 
an  hour  it  was  apparent  that,  if  there  was  any  essen 
tial  difference  in  the  sailing  of  the  two  ships  under 
the  present  circumstances,  it  was  slightly  in  favour 
of  the  Montauk.  The  Foam  now  set  her  ensign  for 
the  first  time,  a  signal  that  she  wished  to  speak  the 
ship  in  sight.  At  this  Captain  Truck  chuckled,  for 
he  pronounced  it  a  sign  that  she  was  conscious  she 
could  not  get  them  within  range  of  her  guns. 

"  Show  him  the  gridiron,"  cried  the  captain, 
briskly  ;  "  it  will  not  do  to  be  beaten  in  civility  by  a 
man  who  has  beaten  us  already  on  so  many  tacks; 
but  keep  all  fast  as  a  church-door  on  a  week-day." 

This  latter  comparison  was  probably  owing  to  the 
circumstance  of  the  master's  having  come  from  a 
part  of  the  country  where  all  the  religion  is  com 
pressed  into  twenty-four  hours  that  commence  on  a 
Saturday-night  at  sunset,  and  end  at  sunset  the  next 
day:  at  least,  this  was  his  own  explanation  of  the 
matter.  The  effect  of  success  was  always  to  make 
Mr.  Truck  loquacious,  and  he  now  began  to  tell  many 
excellent  anecdotes,  of  which  he  had  stores,  all  of 
events  that  happened  to  him  in  person,  or  of  which 
he  had  been  an  eye-witness :  and  on  which  his  hear 
ers,  as  Sancho  said,  might  so  certainly  depend  as  true, 
that,  if  they  chose,  they  might  safely  swear  they  had 
seen  them  themselves. 

"  Speaking  of  churches  and  doors,  Sir  George," 
he  said,  between  the  puffs  of  the  cigar,  "  were  you 
ever  in  Rhode  Island  ?" 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  135 

"  Never,  as  this  is  my  first  visit  to  America,  cap 
tain." 

"  True  ;  well,  you  will  be  likely  to  go  there,  if  you 
go  to  Boston,  as  it  is  the  best  way ;  unless  you  would 
prefer  to  run  over  Nantucket  shoals,  and  a  hundred 
miles  of  ditto,  as  Mr.  Dodge  calls  it." 

"  Ditter,  captain,  if  you  please — ditter :  it  is  the 
continental  word  for  round-about." 

"  The  d 1  it  is  !  it  is  worth  knowing,  however. 

And  what  may  be  the  French  for  pee-jacket  ?" 

"  You  mistake  me,  sir, — ditter,  a  circuit,  or  the 
longer  way." 

"  That  is  the  road  we  are  now  travelling,  by 
George  ! — T  say,  Leach,  do  you  happen  to  know  that 
we  are  making  a  ditter  to  America?" 

"  You  were  speaking  of  a  church,  Captain  Truck," 
politely  interposed  Sir  George,  who  had  become 
rather  intimate  with  his  fellow-Gccupant  of  the  state 
room. 

"  I  was  travelling  through  that  state,  a  few  years 
since,  on  my  way  from  Providence  to  New  London, 
at  a  time  when  a  new  road  had  just  been  opened.  It 
was  on  a  Sunday,  and  the  stage — a  four-horse  power, 
you  must  know — had  never  yet  run  through  on  the 
Lord's-day.  Well,  we  might  be,  as  it  were,  oft' 
here  at  right  angles  to  our  course,  and  there  was  a 
short  turn  in  the  road,  as  one  would  say,  out  yonder. 
As  we  hove  in  sight  of  the  turn,  I  saw  a  chap  at  the 
mast-head  of  a  tree ;  down  he  slid,  and  away  he 
went  right  before  it,  towards  a  meeting-house  two  or 
three  cables  length  .down  the  road.  We  followed  at 
a  smart  jog,  and  just  before  we  got  the  church 
abeam,  out  poured  the  whole  congregation,  horse 
and  foot,  parson  and  idlers,  sinners  and  hypocrites, 
to  see  the  four-horse  power  go  past.  Now  this  is 
what  1  call  keeping  the  church-door  open  on  a  Sun 
day." 


136  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

We  might  have  hesitated  about  recording  this 
anecdote  of  the  captain's,  had  we  not  received  an 
account  of  the  same  occurrence  from  a  quarter  that 
left  no  doubt  that  his  version  of  the  affair  was  sub 
stantially  correct.  This  and  a  few  similar  adven 
tures,  some  of  which  he  invented,  and  all  of  which 
he  swore  were  literal,  enabled  the  worthy  master  to 
keep  the  quarter-deck  in  good  humour,  while  the 
ship  was  running  at  the  rate  of  ten  knots  the  hour  in 
a  line  so  far  diverging  from  her  true  course.  But 
the  relief  to  landsmen  is  so  great,  in  general,  in 
meeting  with  a  fair  wind  at  sea,  that  few  are  dis 
posed  to  quarrel  with  its  consequences.  A  bright 
day,  a  steady  ship,  the  pleasure  of  motion  as  they 
raced  with  the  combing  seas,  and  the  interest  of  the 
chase,  set  every  one  at  ease;  and  even  Steadfast 
Dodge  was  less  devoured  with  envy,  a  jealousy  of 
his  own  deservings,  and  the  desire  of  management, 
than  usual.  Not  an  introduction  occurred,  and  yet 
the  little  world  of  the  ship  got  to  be  better  acquainted 
with  each  other  in  the  course  of  that  day,  than  would 
have  happened  in  months  of  the  usual  collision  on 
-land. 

The  Montauk  continued  to  gain  on  her  pursuer 
until  the  sun  set,  when  Captain  Truck  began  again 
to  cast  about  him  for  the  chances  of  the  night.  He 
knew  that  the  ship  was  running  into  the  mouth  of  the 
Bay  of  Biscay,  or  at  least  was  fast  approaching  it, 
and  he  bethought  him  of  the  means  of  getting  to  the 
westward.  The  night  promised  to  be  anything  [.but 
dark,  for  though  a  good  many  wild-looking  clouds 
were  by  this  time  scudding  athwart  the  heavens,  the 
moon  diffused  a  sort  of  twilight  gleam  in  the  air. 
Waiting  patiently,  however,  until  the  middle-watch 
was  again  called,  he  reduced  sail,  and  hauled  the 
ship  oft' to  a  south-west  course,  hoping  by  this  slight 
change  insensibly  to  gnin  an  offing  before  the  Foam 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  137 

was  aware  of  it ;  a  scheme  that  he  thought  more 
likely  to  be  successful,  as  by  dint  of  sheer  driving 
throughout  the  day,  he  had  actually  caused  the 
courses  of  that  vessel  to  dip  before  the  night  shut  in. 
Even  the  most  vigilant  became  Aweary  of  watch 
ing,  and  Captain  Truck  was  unpleasantly  disturbed 
next  morning  by  an  alarm  that  the  Foam  was  just 
out  of  gun-shot,  coming  up  with  them  fast.  On  gain 
ing  the  deck  he  found  the  fact  indisputable.  Favour 
ed  by  the  change  in  the  course,  the  cruiser  had  been 
gradually  gaining  on  the  Montauk  ever  since  the 
first  watch  was  relieved,  and  had  indeed  lessened  the 
distance  between  the  respective  ships  by  two-thirds. 
No  remedy  remained  but  to  try  the  old  expedient  of 
getting  the  wind  over  the  taffrail  once  more,  and  of 
showing  all  the  canvass  that  could  be  spread.  As 
like  causes  are  known  to  produce  like  effects,  the 
expedient  brought  about  the  old  results.  The  packet 
had  the  best  of  it,  and  the  sloop-of-war  slowly  fell 
astern.  Mr.  Truck  now  declared  he  would  make  a 
"  regular  business  of  it,"  and  accordingly  he  drove 
his  ship  in  that  direction  throughout  the  day,  the  fol 
lowing  night,  and  until  near  noon  of  the  day  which 
succeeded,  varying  his  course  slightly  to  suit  the 
wind,  which  he  studiously  kept  so  near  aft  as  to  allow 
the  studding-sails  to  draw  on  both  sides.  At  meri 
dian,  on  the  fourth  day  out,  the  captain  got  a  good 
observation,  and  ascertained  that  the  ship  was  in  the 
latitude  of  Oporto,  with  an  offing  of  less  than  a  de 
gree.  At  this  time  the  top-gallant  sails  of  the  Foam 
might  be  discovered  from  the  deck,  resembling  a 
boat  clinging  to  the  watery  horizon.  As  he  had 
fully  made  up  his  mind  to  run  into  port  in  preference 
to  being  overhauled,  the  master  had  kept  so  near  the 
land,  with  an  intention  of  profiting  by  his  position,  in 
the  event  of  any  change  favouring  his  pursuers,  but 


138  HOMEWARD  BOUND. 

he  now  believed  that   at  sunset  he  should  be  safe  in 
finally  shaping  his  course  for  America. 

"  There  must  be  double-fortified  eyes  aboard  that 
fellow  to  see  what  we  are  about  at  this  distance, 
when  the  night  is  once  shut  in,"  he  said  to  Mr. 
Leach,  who  seconded  all  his  orders  with  obedient 
zeal,  "  and  we  will  watch  our  moment  to  slip  out 
fairly  into  the  great  prairie,  and  then  we  shall  dis 
cover  who  best  knows  the  trail !  You'll  be  for  trot 
ting  off  to.  the  prairies,  Sir  George,  as  soon  as  we 
get  in,  and  for  trying  your  hand  at  the  buflalos,  like 
all  the  rest  of  them.  Ten  years  since,  if  an  English 
man  came  to  look  at  us,  he  was  afraid  of  being 
scalped  in  Broad- Way,  and  now  he  is  never  satisfied 
unless  he  is  astraddle  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  in  the 
first  fortnight.  I  take  over  lots  of  cockney-hunters 
every  summer,  who  just  get  a  shot  at  a  grizzly  bear 
or  two,  or  at  an  antelope,  and  come  back  in  time  for 
the  opening  of  Drury  Lane." 

"  Should,  we  not  be  more  certain  of  accomplishing 
your  plans,  by  seeking  refuge  in  Lisbon  for  a  day  or 
two.  I  confess  now  I  should  like  to  see  Lisbon,  and 
as  for  the  port-charges,  I  would  rather  pay  them 
twice,  than  that  this  poor  man  should  be  torn  from 
his  wife.  On  this  point  I  hope,  Captain  Truck,  I 
have  made  myself  sufficiently  explicit." 

Captain  Truck  shook  the  baronet  heartily  by  the 
hand,  as  he  always  did  when  this  offer  was  renewed, 
declaring  that  his  feelings  did  him  honour. 

"  Never  fear  for  Davis,"  he  said.  "  Old  Grab 
shall  not  have  him  this  tack,  nor  the  Foam  neither. 
I'll  throw  him  overboard  before  such  a  disgrace  be 
fall  us  or  him.  Well,  this  leech  has  driven  us  from 
the  old  road,  and  nothing  now  remains  but  to  make 
the  southern  passage,  unless  the  wind  prevail  at 
south." 

The  Montauk,  in  truth,  had  not  much  varied  from 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  139 

a  course  that  was  once  greatly  in  favour  with  the 
London  ships,  Lisbon  and  New  York  being  really  in 
the  same  parallel  of  latitude,  and  the  currents,  if  pro 
perly  improved,  often  favouring  the  run.  It  is  true, 
the  Montauk  had  kept  closer  in  with  the  continent 
by  a  long  distance  than  was  usual,  even  for  the  pas 
sage  he  had  named;  but  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  chase  had  left  no  alternative,  as  the  master 
explained  to  his  listeners. 

"  It  was  a  coasting  voyage,  or  a  tow  back  to 
Portsmouth,  Sir  George,"  he  said,  "  and  of  the  two 
I  know  you  like  the  Montauk  too  well  to  wish  to  be 
quit  of  her  so  soon." 

To  this  the  baronet  gave  a  willing  assent,  protest 
ing  that  his  feelings  had  got  so  much  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  the  vessel  he  was  in,  that  he  would  cheerfully 
forfeit  a  thousand  pounds  rather  than  be  overtaken. 
The  master  assured  him  that  was  just  what  he  liked, 
and  swore  that  he  was  the  sort  of  passenger  he  most 
delighted  in.  ^V 

"When  a  man  puts  his  foot  on  the  deck  of  a  ship, 
Sir  George,  he  should  look  upon  her  as  his  home,  his 
church,  his  wife  and  children,  his  uncles  and  aunts, 
and  all  the  other  lumber  ashore.  This  is  the  senti 
ment  to  make  seamen.  Now,  I  entertain  a  greater 
regard  for  the  shortest  ropeyarn  aboard  this  ship, 
than  for  the  topsail-sheets  or  best  bower  of  any  other 
vessel.  It  is  like  a  man's  loving  his  own  ringer,  or 
toe,  before  another  person's.  I  have  heard  it  said 
that  one  should  love  his  neighbour  as  well  as  himself; 
but  for  my  part  I  love  my  ship  better  than  my  neigh 
bour's,  or  my  neighbour  himself,  and  I  fancy,  if  the 
truth  were  known,  my  neighbour  pays  me  back  in 
the  same  coin  !  For  my  part,  I  like  a  thing  because 
it  is  mine." 

A  little  before  dark  the  head  of  the  Montauk  was 
inclined  towards  Lisbon,  as  if  her  intention  was  to 


140  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

run  in,  but  the  moment  the  dark  spot  that  pointed  out 
the  position  of  the  Foam  was  lost  in  the  haze  of  the 
horizon,  Captain  Truck  gave  the  order  to  "  ware" 
and  sail  was  made  to  the  west-south-west. 

Most  of  the  passengers  felt  an  intense  curiosity  to 
know  the  state  of  things  on  the  following  morning, 
and  all  the  men  among  them  were  dressed  and  on 
deck  just  as  the  day  began  to  break.  The  wind  had 
been  fresh  and  steady  all  night,  and  as  the  ship  had 
been  kept  with  her  yards  a  little  checked,  and  top 
mast  studding-sails  set,  the  officers  reported  her  to 
be  at  least  a  hundred  miles  to  the  westward  of  the 
spot  where  she  veered.  The  reader  will  imagine 
the  disappointment  the  latter  experienced,  then,  when 
they  beheld  the  Foam  a  little  on  their  weather- 
quarter,  edging  away  for  them  as  assiduously  as  she 
had  been  hauling  up  for  them  the  night  they  sailed 
from  Portsmouth,  distant  little  more  than  a  league ! 

"  This  is  indeed  extraordinary  perseverance,"  said 
Paul  Blunt  to  Eve,  at  whose  side  he  was  standing  at 
the  moment  the  fact  was  ascertained,  "  and  I  think 
our  captain  might  do  well  to  heave-to  and  ascertain 
its  cause." 

"  I  hope  not,"  cried  his  companion  with  vivacity. 
"I  confess  to  an  esprit  de  corps,  and  a  gallant  deter 
mination  to  *  see  it  out,'  as  Mr.  Leach  styles  his  own 
resolution.  One  does  not  like  to  be  followed  about 
the  ocean  in  this  manner,  unless  it  be  for  the  interest 
it  gives  the  voyage.  After  all,  how  much  better  is 
this  than  dull  solitude,  and  what  a  zest  it  gives  to  the 
monotony  of  the  ocean  !" 

"  Do  you  then  find  the  ocean  a  scene  of  mono 
tony?"  " 

"  Such  it  has  oftener  appeared  to  me  than  any 
thing  else,  and  I  give  it  a  fair  trial,  having  never  le 
mal  de  mer.  But  I  acquit  it  of  this  sin  now  ;  for  the 
interest  of  a  chase,  in  reasonably  good  weather,  is 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  141 

quite  equal  to  that  of  .a  horse-race,  which  is  a  thing 
I  delight  in.  Even  Mr.  John  Effingham  can  look 
radiant  under  its  excitement." 

"  And  when  this  is  the  case  he  is  singularly  hand 
some;  a  nobler  line  of  face  is  seldom  seen  than  that 
of  Mr.  John  Effingham." 

"  He  has  a  noble  outline  of  soul,  if  he  did  but 
know  it  himself,"  returned  Eve,  warmly:  "  I  love  no 
one  as  much  as  he,  with  the  exception  of  my  father, 
and  as  Mademoiselle  Viefville  would  say,  pour 
cause." 

The  young  man  could  have  listened  all  day,  but 
Eve  smiled,  bowed  graciously,  though  with  a  glisten 
ing  eye,  and  hastily  left  the  deck,  conscious  of  having 
betrayed  some  of  her  most  cherished  feelings  to  one 
who  had  no  claim  to  share  them. 

Captain  Truck,  while  vexed  to  his  heart's  core, 
or,  as  he  expressed  it  himself,  "  struck  aback,  like  an 
old  lady  shot  off  a  hand-sled  in  sliding  down  hill," 
was  prompt  in  applying  the  old  remedy  to  the  evil. 
The  Montauk  was  again  put  before  the  wind,  sail 
was  made,  and  the  fortunes  of  the  chase  were  once 
more  cast  on  the  "  play  of  the  ship." 

The  commander  of  the  Foam  certainly  deprecated 
this  change,  for  it  was  hardly  made  before  he  set  his 
ensign,  and  fired  a  gun.  But  of  these  signals  no 
other  notice  was  taken  than  to  show  a  flag  in  return, 
when  the  captain  and  his  mates  proceeded  to  get 
the  bearings  of  the  sloop-of-war.  Ten  minutes  show 
ed  they  were  gaining ;  twenty  did  better  ;  and  in  an 
hour  she  was  well  on  the  quarter. 

Another  day  of  strife  succeeded,  or  rather  of  pure 
sailing,  for  not  a  rope  was  started  on  board  the  Mon 
tauk,  the  wind  still  standing  fresh  and  steady.  The 
sloop  made  many  signals,  all  indicating  a  desire  to 
speak  the  Montauk,  but  Captain  Truck  declared 
himself  too  experienced  a  navigator  to  be  caught  by 


142  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

bunting,  and  in  too  great  a  hurry  to  stop  and  chat 
by  the  way. 

"  Vattel  had  laid  down  no  law  for  such  a  piece  of 
complaisance,  in  a  time  of  profound  peace.  I  arn 
not  to  be  caught  by  that  category." 

The  result  may  be  anticipated  from  what  has 
been  already  related.  The  two  ships  kept  before  the 
wind  until  the  Foam  was  again  far  astern,  and  the 
observations  of  Captain  Truck  told  him,  he  was  as 
far  south  as  the  Azores.  In  one  of  these  islands  he 
was  determined  to  take  refuge,  provided  he  was  not 
favoured  by  accident,  for  going  farther  south  was 
out  of  the  question,  unless  absolutely  driven  to  it. 
Calculating  his  distance,  on  the  evening  of  the  sixth 
day  out,  he  found  that  he  might  reach  an  anchorage 
at  Pico,  before  the  sloop-of-war  could  close  with 
him,  even  allowing  the  necessity  of  hauling  up  again 
by  the  wind. 

But  Providence  had  ordered  differently.  Towards 
midnight,  the  breeze  almost  failed  and  became  baf 
fling,  and  when  the  day  dawned  the  officer  of  the 
watch  reported  that  it  was  ahead.  The  pursuing 
ship,  though  still  in  sight,  was  luckily  so  far  astern 
and  to  leeward  as  to  prevent  any  danger  from  a 
visit  by  boats,  and  there  was  leisure  to  make  the  pre 
parations  that  might  become  necessary  on  the  spring 
ing  up  of  a  new  breeze.  Of  the  speedy  occurrence  of 
such  a  change  there  was  now  every  symptom,  the 
heavens  lighting  up  at  the  northwest,  a  quarter  from 
which  the  genius  of  the  storms  mostly  delights  in 
making  a  display  of  his  power. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  143 


CHAPTER  X. 

I  come  with  mightier  things  ; 
Who  calls  me  silent  ?     I  have  many  tones — 
The  dark  sky  thrills  with  low  mysterious  moans, 
Borne  on  my  sweeping-  winds. 

Mrs.  Hemans. 

THE  awaking  of  the  winds  on  the  ocean  is  fre 
quently  attended  with  signs  and  portents  as  sublime 
as   any   the   fancy  can    conceive.     On  the  present 
occasion,  the  breeze  that  had  prevailed  so  steadily 
for  a  week  was  succeeded  by  light  baffling  puffs,  as 
if,  conscious  of  the  mighty  powers  of  the  air  that 
were  assembling   in   their   strength,   these   inferior 
blasts  were  hurrying  to  and  fro  for  a  refuge.     The 
clouds,  too,  were  whirling  about  in  uncertain  eddies, 
many  of  the  heaviest  and  darkest  descending  so  low 
along  the  horizon,  that  they  had  an  appearance  of 
settling  on  the  waters  in  quest  of  repose.     But  the 
waters  themselves  were  unnaturally  agitated.     The 
billows,  no  longer  following  each  other  in  long  regular 
waves,  were  careering  upwards,  like  fiery  coursers 
suddenly  checked  in  their  mad  career.     The  usual 
order  of  the  eternally  unquiet  ocean  was  lost  in  a 
species  of  chaotic  tossings  of  the  element,  the  seas 
heaving  themselves  upward,  without  order,  and  fre 
quently  without  visible  cause.    This  was  the  reaction 
of  the  currents,  and  of  the  influence  of  breezes  still 
older  than  the  last.     Not  the  least  fearful  symptom  of 
the  hour  was  the  terrific  calmness  of  the  air  amid 
such  a  scene  of  menacing  wildness.     Even  the  ship 
came  into  the  picture  to  aid  the  impression  of  intense 
expectation ;  for  with  her  canvass  reduced,  she,  too, 
seemed  to  have  lost  that  instinct  which  had  so  lately 


144  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

guided  her  along  the  trackless  waste,  and  was  "  wal 
lowing,"  nearly  helpless,  among  the  confused  waters. 
Still  she  was  a  beautiful  and  a  grand  object;  perhaps 
more  so  at  that  moment  than  at  any  other;  for  her 
vast  and  naked  spars,  her  well-supported  masts,  and 
all  the  ingenious  and  complicated  hamper  of  the  ma 
chine  gave  her  a  resemblance  to  some  sinewy  and 
gigantic  gladiator,  pacing  the  arena,  in  waiting  for 
the  conflict  that  was  at  hand. 

"  This  is  an  extraordinary  scene,"  said  Eve,  who 
clung  to  her  father's  arm,  as  she  gazed  around  her 
equally  in  admiration  and  in  awe ;  "  a  dread  exhi 
bition  of  the  sublimity  of  nature  !" 

"  Although  accustomed  to  the  sea,"  returned  Mr. 
Blunt,  "  I  have  witnessed  these  ominous  changes  but 
twice  before,  and  I  think  this  the  grandest  of  them 
all."  . 

"  Were  the  others  followed  by  tempests?"  inquired 
the  anxious  parent. 

"  One  brought  a  tremendous  gale,  while  the  other 
passed  away  like  a  misfortune  of  which  we  get  a 
near  view,  but  are  permitted  to  escape  the  effects." 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  wish  such  to  be  entirely  our 
present  fortune,"  rejoined  Eve,  "for  there  is  so  much 
sublimity  in  this  view  of  the  ocean  unaroused,  that  I 
feel  desirous  of  seeing  it  when  aroused." 

"  We  are  not  in  the  hurricane  latitudes,  or  hurri 
cane  months,"  resumed  the  young  man,  "  and  it  is 
not  probable  that  there  is  anything  more  in  reserve 
for  us  than  a  hearty  gale  of  wind,  which  may,  at 
least,  help  us  to  get  rid  of  yonder  troublesome  fol 
lower." 

"  Even  that  I  do  not  wish,  provided  he  will  let  us 
continue  the  race  on  our  proper  route.  A  chase 
across  the  Atlantic  would  be  something  to  enjoy  at 
the  moment,  gentlemen,  and  something  to  talk  of  in 
after  life." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  145 

"  I  wonder  if  such  a  thing  be  possible  !"  exclaimed 
Mr.  Sharp ;  "  it  would  indeed  be  an  incident  to  re 
count  to  another  generation !" 

"  There  is  little  probability  of  our  witnessing  such 
an  exploit."  Mr.  Blunt  remarked,  "  for  gales  of  wind 
on  the  ocean  have  the  same  separating  influence  on 
consorts  of  the  sea,  that  domestic  gales  have  on 
consorts  of  the  land.  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than 
to  keep  ships  and  fleets  in  sight  of  each  other  in  very 
heavy  weather,  unless,  indeed,  those  of  the  best  quali 
ties  are  disposed  to  humour  those  of  the  worst." 

"  I  know  not  which  may  be  called  the  best,  or 
which  the  worst,  in  this  instance,  for  our  tormentor 
appears  to  be  as  much  better  than  ourselves  in  some 
particulars,  as  we  are  better  than  he  in  others.  If 
the  humouring  is  to  come  from  our  honest  captain,  it 
will  be  some  such  humouring  as  the  spoiled  child 
gets  from  a  capricious  parent  in  moments  of  anger." 

Mr.  Truck  passed  the  group  at  that  instant,  and 
heard  his  name  coupled  with  the  word  honest,  in  the 
mouth  of  Eve,  though  he  lost  the  rest  of  the  sentence. 

"  Thank  you  for  the  compliment,  my  dear  young 
lady,"  he  said  ;  "  and  I  wish  I  could  persuade  Cap 
tain  Somebody,  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Foam, 
to  be  of  the  same  way  of  thinking.  It  is  all  because 
he  will  not  fancy  me  honest  in  the  article  of  tobacco 
that  he  has  got  the  Montauk  down  here,  on  the 
Spanish  coast,  \vhere  the  man  who  built  her  would 
not  know  her ;  so  unnatural  and  unseemly  is  it  to 
catch  a  London  liner  so  far  out  of  her  track.  I  shall 
have  to  use  double  care  to  get  the  good  craft  home 
again." 

"  And  why  this  particular  difficulty,  captain  ?" 
Eve,  who  was  amused  with  Mr.  Truck's  modes  of 
speech,  pleasantly  inquired,  "  Is  it  not  equally  easy  to 
go  from  one  part  of  the  ocean,  as  from  another?" 

"  Equally  easy  !  Bless  you,  my  dear  young  lady, 

VOL.  i.  13 


146  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Sxi  never  made  a  more  capital  mistake  in  your  life, 
o  you  imagine  it  is  as  easy  to  go  from  London  to 
New  York,  now,  as  to  go  from  New  York  to  Lon 
don?" 

"  I  am  so  ignorant  as  to  have  made  this  ridiculous 
mistake,  if  mistake  it  be ;  nor  do  I  now  see  why  it 
should  be  otherwise." 

"Simply  because  it  is  up-hill,  ma'am.  As  for  our 
position  here  to  the  eastward  of  the  Azores,  the  diffi 
culty  is  soon  explained.  By  dint  of  coaxing  I  had 
got  the  good  old  ship  so  as  to  know  every  inch  of 
the  road  on  the  northern  passage,  and  now  I  shall  be 
obliged  to  wheedle  her  along  on  a  new  route,  like  a 
shy  horse  getting  through  a  new  stable-door.  One 
might  as  well  think, of  driving  a  pig  from  his  sty,  as 
to  get  a  ship  out  of  her  track." 

"  We  trust  to  you  to  do  all  this  and  much  more  at 
need.  But  to  what  will  these  grand  omens  lead  ? 
Shall  we  have  a  gale,  or  is  so  much  magnificent 
menacing  to  be  taken  as  an  empty  threat  of  Na 
ture's?" 

"  That  we  shall  know  in  the  course  of  the  day, 
Miss  Effingham,  though  Nature  is  no  bully,  and  sel 
dom  threatens  in  vain.  There  is  nothing  more  curi 
ous  to  study,  or  which  needs  a  nicer  eye  to  detect, 
than  your  winds." 

"Of  the  latter  I  am  fully  persuaded,  captain,  for 
they  are  called  the  '  viewless  winds,'  you  will  remem 
ber,  and  the  greatest  authority  we  possess,  speaks  of 
them  as  being  quite  beyond  the  knowledge  of  man : 
*  That  we  may  hear  the  sound  of  the  wind,  but  can 
not  tell  whence  it  comeih,  or  whither  it  goeth.' " 

"I  do  not  remember  the  writer  you  mean,  my  dear 
young  lady,"  returned  Mr.  Truck,  quite  innocently; 
"  but  he  was  a  sensible  fellow,  for  I  believe  Vattcl  has 
never  yet  dared  to  grapple  with  the  winds.  There 
are  people  who  fancy  the  weather  is  foretold  in  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  147 

almanack  ;  but,  according  to  my  opinion,  it  is  safer 
to  trust  a  rhcumatis'  of  two  or  three  years'  standing. 
A  good,  well-established,  old-fashioned  rheumatis' — 
I  say  nothing  of  your- new-fangled  diseases,  like  the 
cholera,  and  varioloid,  and  animal  magnitudes — but 
a  good  old-fashioned  rheumatis',  such  as  people  used 
to  have  when  I  was  a  boy,  is  as  certain  a  barometer 
as  that  which  is  at  this  moment  hanging  up  in  the 
coach-house  here,  within  two  fathoms  of  the  very 
spot  where  we  are  standing.  I  once  had  a  rheu 
matis'  that  I  set  much  store  by,  for  it  would  let  me 
know  when  to  look  out  for  easterly  weather,  quite  as 
infallibly  as  any  instrument  I  ever  sailed  with.  I 
never  told  you  the  story  of  the  old  Connecticut 
horse-jockey,  and  the  typhoon,  I  believe;  and  as  we 
are  doing  nothing  but  waiting  for  the  weather  to 
make  up  its  mind" — 

"  The  weather  to  make  up  its  mind  !"  exclaimed 
Eve,  looking  around  her  in  awe  at  the  sublime  and 
terrific  grandeur  of  the  ocean,  of  the  heavens,  and 
of  the  pent  and  moody  air  ;  "  is  there,  then,  an  un 
certainty  in  this?" 

"  Lord  bless  you !  my  dear  young  lady,  the 
weather  is  often  as  uncertain,  and  as  undecided,  and 
as  hard  to  please,  too,  as  an  old  girl  who  gets  sudden 
offers  on  the  same  day,  from  a  widower  with  ten 
children,  an  attorney  with  one  leg,  and  the  parson  of 
the  parish.  Uncertain,  indeed !  Why  I  have  known 
the  weather  in  this  grandiloquent  condition  for  a 
whole  day.  Mr.  Dodge,  there,  will  tell  you  it  is 
making  up  its  mind  which  way  it  ought  to  blow,  to 
be  popular ;  so,  as  we  have  nothing  better  to  do, 
Mr.  Effingham,  I  will  tell  you  the  story  about  my 
neighbour,  the  horse-jockey.  Hauling  yards  when 
there  is  no  wind,  is  like  playing  on  a  Jew's-harp,  at  a 
concert  of  trombones." 

Mr.  Effingham  made  a  complaisant  sign  of  assent, 


148  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

and  pressed-  the   arm  of  the  excited  Eve   for  pa 
tience. 

"  You  must  know,  gentlemen,"  the  captain  com 
menced,  looking  round  to  collect  as  many  listeners 
as  possible, — for  he  excessively  disliked  lecturing  to 
small  audiences,  when  he  had  anything  to  say  that 
he  thought  particularly  clever, — "you  must  know 
that  we  had  formerly  many  craft  that  went  between 
the  river  and  the  islands — " 

— '•  "The  river  1"  interrupted  the  amused  Mr.  Sharp. 

"Certain.;  the  Connecticut,  I  mean;  we  all  call  it 
the  river  down  our  way — between  the  river  and  the 
West  Indies,  with  horses,  cattle,  and  other  knick- 
knacks  of  that  description.  Among  others  was  old 
Joe' Bunk,  who  had  followed  the  trade  in  a  high- 
decked  brig  for  some  twenty-three  years,  he  and  the 
brig  having  grown  old  in  company,  like  man  and 
wife.  About  forty  years  since,  our  river  ladies  be 
gan  to  be  tired  of  their  bohea,  and  as  there  was  a  good 
deal  said  in  favour  of  souchong  in  those  days,  an  ex 
citement  was  got  up  on  the  subject,  as  Mr.  Dodge 
calls  it,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  an  experiment 
in  the  new  quality,  before  they  dipped  fairly  into  the 
trade.  Well,  what  do  you  suppose  was  done  in  the 
premises,  as  Vattel  says,  my  dear  young  lady?" 

Eve's  eyes  were  still  on  the  grand  and  portentous 
aspect  of  the  heavens,  but  she  civilly  answered, 

"  No  doubt  they  sent  to  a  shop  and  purchased  a 
sample." 

"Not  they;  they  knew  too  much  for  that;  since 
any  rogue  of  a  grocer  might  cheat  them.  When  the 
excitement  had  got  a  little  headway  on  it,  they 
formed  a  tea  society,  with  the  parson's  wife  for 
presidentess,  and  her  oldest  daughter  for  secretary. 
In  this  way  they  went  to  work,  until  the  men  got 
into  the  fever  too,  and  a  project  was  set  a-foot  to 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  149 

send  a  craft  to  China  for  a  sample  of  what  they 
wanted." 

"  China  !"  exclaimed  Eve,  this  time  looking  the 
captain  fairly  in  the  face. 

"China,  certain;  it  lies  off  hereaway,  you  know, 
round  on  the  other  side  of  the  earth.  Well,  whom 
should  they  choose  to  go  on  the  errand  but  old  Joe 
Bunk.  The  old  man  had  been  so  often  to  the  islands 
and  back,  without  knowing  anything  of  navigation, 
they  thought  he  was  just  their  man,  as  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  losing  him.'' 

"One  would  think  he  was  the  very  mnn  to  get 
lost,"  observed  Mr.  Effingham,  while  the  captain  fit 
ted  a  fresh  cigar;  for  smoke  he  would,  and  did,  in 
any  company,  that  was  out  of  the  cabin,  although  he 
always  professed  a  readiness  to  cease,  if  any  person 
disliked  the  fragrance  of  tobacco. 

"Not  he,  sir;  he  was  just  as  well  off  in  the  Indian 
Ocean  as  he  would  be  here,  for  he  knew  nothing 
about,  either.  Well,  Joe  fitted  up  the  brig;  the  Seven 
Dollies  was  her  name;  for  you  must  know  we  had 
seven  ladies  in  the  town,  who  were  called  Dolly,  and 
they  each  of  them  used  to  send  a  colt,  or  a  steer,  or 
some  other  delicate  article  to  the  islands  by  Joe, 
whenever  he  went;  so  he  fitted  up  the  Seven  Dol 
lies,  hoisted  in  his  dollars,  and  made  sail.  The  last 
that  was  seen  or  heard  of  the  old  man  for  eight 
months,  was  off  Montauk,  where  he  was  fallen  in 
with,  two  days  out,  steering  south-easterly,  by  com 
pass." 

"  I  should  think,"  observed  John  Effingham,  who 
began  to  arouse  himself  as  the  story  proceeded, 
"  that  Mrs.  Bunk  must  have  been  very  uneasy  all  this 
time?" 

"  Not  she ;  she   stuck  to  the  bohea   in  hopes  the 
souchong  would  arrive  before  the  restoration  of  the 
Jews.     Arrive   it  did,   sure   enough,  at  the  end   of 
13* 


150  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

eight  months,  and  a  capital  adventure  it  proved  for 
all  concerned*  Old  Joe  got  a  great  name  in  the 
river  for  the  exploit,  though  how  he  got  to  China  no 
one  could  say,  or  how  he  got  back  again ;  or,  for 
a  long  time,  how  he  got  the  huge  heavy  silver  tea 
pot,  he  brought  with  him." 

"A  silver  tea-pot?" 

"  Exactly  that  article.  At  last  the  truth  came  to 
be  known ;  for  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  hide  any 
thing  of  that  nature  down  our  way ;  it  is  aristo 
cratic,  as  Mr.  Dodge  says,  to  keep  a  secret.  At 
first  they  tried  Joe  with  all  sorts  of  questions,  but  he 
gave  them  'guess'  for  *  guess.'  Then  people  began 
to  talk,  and  finally  it  was  fairly  whispered  that  the 
old  man  had  stolen  the  tea-pot.  This  brought  him 
out ;  for  it  went  so  far  as  to  be  got  up  before  the 
meeting. — Law  was  out  of  the  question,  you  will  un 
derstand,  as  there  was  no  evidence ;  but  the  meeting 
don't  stick  much  at  particulars,  provided  people  talk 
a  good  deal." 

"  And  the  result  ?"  asked  John  Effingham,  "  I  sup 
pose  the  parish  took  the  tea-pot,  and  gave  Joe  the 
grounds." 

"  You  are  as  far  out  of  the  way  as  we  are  here, 
down  on  the  coast  of  Spain  !  The  truth  is  just  this. 
The  Seven  Dollies  was  lying  among  the  rest  of 
them,  at  anchor,  below  Canton,  with  the  weather  as 
fine  as  young  girls  love  to  see  it  in  May,  when  Joe 
began  to  get  down  his  yards,  to  house  his  masts,  and 
to  send  out  all  his  spare  anchors.  He  even  went  so 
far  as  to  get  two  hawsers  fastened  to  a  junk  that 
was  grounded  a  little  a-head  of  him.  This  made  a 
talk  among  the  captains  of  the  vessels,  and  some 
came  on  board  to  ask  the  reason.  Joe  told  them  he 
was  getting  ready  for  the  typhoon  ;  but  when  they 
inquired  his  reasons  for  believing  there  was  to  be  a 
typhoon  at  all,  Joe  looked  solemn,  shook  his  head, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  151 

ancTsaid  he  had  reasons  enough,  but  they  were  his 
own.  Had  he  been  explicit,  he  would  have  been 
laughed  at,  but  the  sight  of  an, old  grey-headed  man, 
who  had  been  at  sea  forty  years,  getting  ready  in 
this  serious  manner,  set  the  others  at  work  too ;  for 
ships  follow  each  other's  movements,  like  sheep  run 
ning  through  a  breach  in  the  fence.  Well,  that 
night  the  typhoon  came  in  earnest,  and  it  blew  so 
hard,  that  Joe  Bunk  said  he  could  see  the  houses  in 
the  moon,  all  the  air  having  blown  out  of  the  atmo 
sphere." 

"But  what  has  this  to  do  with  the  tea-pot,  Captain 
Truck?" 

"  It  is  the  life  and  soul  of  it.  The  captains  in  port 
were  so  delighted  with  Joe's  foreknowledge,  that  they 
clubbed,  and  presented  him  with  this  pot  as  a  testi 
mony  of  their  gratitude  and  esteem.  He'd  got  to 
be  popular  among  them,  Mr.  Dodge,  and  that  was 
the  way  they  proved  it." 

"  But,  pray,  how  did  he  know  that  the  storm  was 
approaching?"  asked  Eve,  whose  curiosity  had  been 
awakened  in  spite  of  herself.  "  It  could  not  have 
been  that  his  '  foreknowledge'  was  supernatural." 

"That  no  one  can  say,  for  Joe  was  presbyterian- 
built,  as  we  say,  kettle-bottomed,  and  stowed  well. 
The  truth  was  not  discovered  until  ten  years  after 
wards,  when  the  old  fellow  got  to  be  a  regular  crip 
ple,  what  between  rheumatis',  old  age,  and  steaming. 
One  day  he  had  an  attack  of  the  first  complaint,  and 
in  one  of  its  most  severe  paroxysms,  when  nature  is 
apt  to  wince,  he  roared  three  times,  'a  typhoon !  a 
typhoon  !  a  typhoon!'  and  the  murder  was  out.  Sure 
enough,  the  next  day  we  had  a  regular  north-easter; 
but  old  Joe  got  no  sign  of  popularity  that  time.  And 
now,  when  you  get  to  America,  gentlemen  and  la 
dies,  you  will  be  able  to  say  you  have  heard  the 
story  of  Joe  Bunk  and  his  tea-pot." 


152  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Thereupon  Captain  Truck  took  two  or  three 
hearty  whiffs  of  the  cigar,  turned  his  face  upwards, 
and  permitted  the  srriQke  to  issue  forth  in  a  continued 
stream  until  it  was  exhausted,  but  still  keeping  his 
head  raised  in  the  inconvenient  position  it  had  taken. 
The  eye  of  the  master,  fastened  in  this  manner  on 
something  aloft,  was  certain  to  draw  all  other  eyes 
in  the  same  direction,  and  in  a  few  seconds  all 
around  him  were  gazing  in  the  same  way,  though 
none  but  himself  could  tell  why. 

"  Turn  up  the  watch  below,  Mr.  Leach,"  Captain 
Truck  at  length  called  out,  and  Eve  observed  that  he 
threw  away  the  cigar,  although  a  fresh  one ;  a 
proof,  as  she  fancied,  that  he  was  preparing  for  duty. 

The  people  were  soon  at  their  places,  and  an 
effort  was  made  to  get  the  ship's  head  turned  to  the 
southward.  Although  the  frightful  stillness  of  the 
atmosphere  rendered  the  manoeuvre  difficult,  it  suc 
ceeded  in  the  end,  by  profiting  by  the  passing  and  fit 
ful  currents,  that  resembled  so  many  sighings  of  the 
air.  The  men  were  then  sent  on  the  yards,  to  furl 
all  the  canvass,  with  the  exception  of  the  three  top 
sails  and  the  fore-course,  most  of  it  having  been 
merely  hauled  up  to  awrait  the  result.  All  those  who 
had  ever  been  at  sea  before,  saw  in  these  prepara 
tions  proof  that  Captain  Truck  expected  the  change 
would  be  sudden  and  severe:  still,  as  he  betrayed  no 
uneasiness,  they  hoped  his  measures  were  merely 
those  of  prudence.  Mr.  Effingham  could  not  refrain 
from  inquiring,  however,  if  there  existed  any  imme 
diate  motives  for  the  preparations  that  were  so  ac 
tively,  though  not  hurriedly,  making. 

"  This  is  no  affair  for  the  rheumatis',"  returned  the 
facetious  master, "  for,  look  you  here,  my  worthy  sir, 
and  you,  my  dear  young  lady."  This  was  a  sort  of 
parental  familiarity  the  honest  Jack  fancied  he  had  a 
right  to  take  with  all  his  unmarried  female  passen- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  153 

gers,  in  virtue  of  his  office,  and  of  his  being  a  bache 
lor  drawing  hard  upon  sixty ;  "  look  you  here,  my 
dear  young  lady,  and  you,  too,  ma'amselle,  for  you 
can  understand  the  clouds,  I  take  it,  if  they  are  not 
French  clouds;  do  you  not  see  the  manner  in  which 
those  black-looking  rascals  are  putting  their  heads 
together?  and  are  plotting  something  quite  in  their 
own  way,  I'll  warrant  you." 

"  The  clouds  are  huddling,  and  rolling  over  each 
other,  certainly,  returned  Eve,  who  had  been  struck 
with  the  wild  beauty  of  their  evolutions,  "  and  a  no 
ble,  though  fearful  picture  they  present ;  but  I  do  not 
understand  the  particular  meaning  of  it,  if  there  be 
any  hidden  omen  in  their  airy  flights." 

"No  rheumatis'  about  you,  young  lady,"  said  the 
captain,  jocularly ;  "  too  young,  and  handsome,  and 
too  modern,  too,  I  dare  say,  for  that  old-fashioned 
complaint.  But  on  one  category  you  may  rely,  and 
that  is,  that  nothing  in  nature  conspires  without  an 
object." 

"But  I  do  not  think  vapour  whirling  in  a  current 
of  air  is  a  conspiracy,"  answered  Eve,  laughing, 
"  though  it  may  be  a  category." 

"Perhaps  not, — who  knows,  however;  for  it  is 
as  easy  to  suppose  that  objects  understand  each 
other,  as  that  horses  and  dogs  understand  each 
other.  We  know  nothing  about  it,  and,  therefore,  it 
behooves  us  to  say  nothing.  If  mankind  conversed 
only  of  the  things  they  understood,  half  the  words 
might  be  struck  out  of  the  dictionaries.  But,  as  I 
was  remarking,  those  clouds,  you  can  see,  are  get 
ting  together,  and  are  making  ready  for  a  start,  since 
here  they  will  not  be  able  to  stay  much  longer." 

"And  what  will  compel  them  to  disappear?" 

"  Do  me  the  favour  to  turn  your  eyes  here,  to  the 
nor'-west.  You  see  an  opening  there  that  looks  like 
a  crouching  lion  ;  is  it  not.  sot" 


154  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  There  is  certainly  a  bright  clear  streak  of  sky 
along  the  margin  of  the  ocean,  that  has  quite  lately 
made  its  appearance;  does  it  prove  that  the  wind 
will  blow  from  that  quarter  ?' 

"  Quite  as  much,  my  dear  young  lady,  as  when 
you  open  your  window  it  proves  that  you  mean  to 
put  your  head  out  of  it." 

"An  act  a  well-bred  young  woman  very  seldom 
performs,"  observed  Mademoiselle  Viefville;-"and 
never  in  a  town." 

"No?  Well, in  our  town  on  the  river,  the  women's 
heads  are  half  the  time  out  of  the  windows.  But  I 
donot  pretend,  ma'atnselle,  to  be  expert  in  proprieties 
of  this  sort,  though  I  can  venture  to  say  that  I  am 
somewhat  of  a  judge  of  what  the  winds  would  be 
about  when  they  open  their  shutters.  This  opening  to 
the  nor'-west,  then,  is  a  sure  sign  of  something  com 
ing  out  of  the  window,  well-bred  or  not." 

"  But,"  added  Eve,  "  the  clouds  above  us,  and 
those  farther  south,  appear  to  be  hurrying  towards 
your  bright  opening,  captain,  instead  of  from  it." 

"Quite  in  nature,  gentlemen ;  quite  in  nature,  la 
dies.  When  a  man  has  fully  made  up  his  mind  to 
retreat,  he  blusters  the  most;  and  one  step  forward 
often  promises  two  backward.  You  often  see  the 
stormy  petterel  sailing  at  a  ship  as  if  he  meant  to 
come  aboard,  but  he  takes  good  care  to  put  his  helm 
down  before  he  is  fairly  in  the  rigging.  So  it  is  with 
clouds  and  all  other  things  in  nature.  Vattel  says 
you  may  make  a  show  of  fight  when  your  necessi 
ties  require  it,  but  that  a  neutral  cannot  fire  a  gun, 
unless  against  pirates.  Now,  these  clouds  are  put 
ting  the  best  face  on  the  matter,  but  in  a  few  minutes 
you  will  see  them  wheeling  as  St.  Paul  did  before 
them." 

"St.  Paul,  Captain  Truck!" 

"  Yes,  my  dear  young  lady  ;  to  the  right  about." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  155 

Eve  frowned,  for  she  disliked  some  of  these  nau 
tical  images,  though  it  was  impossible  not  to  smile 
in  secret  at  the  queer  associations  that  so  often  led 
the  well-meaning  master's  discursive  discourse.  His 
mind  was  a  strange  jumble  of  an  early  religious  edu 
cation, — religious  as  to  externals  and  professions,  at 
least, — with  subsequent  loose  observation  and  much 
worldly  experience,  and  he  drew  on  his  stock  of  in 
formation,  according  to  his  own  account  of  the  mat 
ter,  "  as  Saunders,  the  steward,  cut  the  butter  from 
the  firkins,  or  as  it  came  first." 

His  prediction  concerning  the  clouds  proved  to 
be  true,  for  half  an  hour  did  not  pass  before  they 
were  seen  "  scampering  out  of  the  way  of  the  nor'- 
wester,"  to  use  the  captain's  figure,  "  like  sheep  giv 
ing  play  to  the  dogs."  The  horizon  brightened  with 
a  rapidity  almost  supernatural,  and,  in  a  surprisingly 
short  space  of  time,  the  whole  of  that  frowning  vault 
that  had  been  shadowed  by  murky  and  menacing 
vapour,  sporting  its  gambols  in  ominous  wildncss, 
was  cleared  of  everything  like  a  cloud,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  white,  rich,  fleecy  piles,  that 
\vere  grouped  in  the  north,  like  a  battery  discharg 
ing  its  artillery  on  some  devoted  field. 

The  ship  betrayed  the  arrival  of  the  wind  by  a 
cracking  of  the  spars,  as  they  settled  into  their 
places,  and  then  the  huge  hull  began  to  push  aside 
the  waters,  and  to  come  under  control.  The  first 
shock  was  far  from  severe,  though,  as  the  captain 
determined  to  bring  his  vessel  up  as  near  his  course 
as  the  direction  of  the  breeze  would  permit,  he  soon 
found  he  had  as  much  canvass  spread  as  she  could 
bear.  Twenty  minutes  brought  him  to  a  single  reef, 
and  half  an  hour  to  a  second. 

By  this  time  attention  was  drawn  to  the  Foam. 
The  old  superiority  of  that  cruiser  was  now  appar 
ent  again,  and  calculations  were  made  concerning 


150  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

the  possibility  of  avoiding  her,  if  they  continued  to 
stand  on  much  longer  on  the  present  course.  The 
captain  had  hoped  the  Montauk  would  have  the  ad 
vantage  from  her  greater  bulk,  when  the  two  ves 
sels  should  be  brought  down  to  close-reefed  topsails, 
as  he  foresaw  would  be  the  case  ;  but  he  was  soon 
compelled  to  abandon  even  that  hope.  Further  to 
the  southward  he  was  resolved  he  would  not  go,  as 
it  would  be  leading  him  too  far  astray,  and,  at  last, 
he  came  to  the  determination  to  stand  towards  the 
islands,  which  were  as  near  as  might  be  in  his  track, 
and  to  anchor  in  a  neutral  road-stead,  if  too  hard 
prer  -xl. 

"  He  cannot  get  up  with  us  before  midnight, 
Leach/'  he  concluded  the  conference  held  with  the 
mate  by  saying;  "  and  by  that  time  the  gale  will  be 
at  its  height,  if  we  are  to  have  a  gale,  and  then  the 
gentlemen  will  not  be  desirous  of  lowering  his  boats. 
Jn  the  mean  time,  we  shall  be  driving  in  towards  the 
Azores,  and  it  will  be  nothing  out  of  the  course  of 
nature,  should  I  find  an  occasion  to  play  him  a  trick. 
As  for  offering  up  the  Montauk  a  sacrifice  on  the 
altar  of  tobacco,  as  old  Deacon  Hourglass  used  to 
say  in  his  prayers,  it  is  a  category  to  be  averted  by 
any  catastrophe  short  of  condemnation." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

I,  tha!  shower  dewy  light 

Through  slumbering  leaves,  bring- storms! — the  tempest  birth 
Of  memory,  thought,  remorse.— Be  holy,  Earth! 
I  am  the  solemn  Night! 

Mas.  HEMAXS. 

IN  this  instance,  it  is  not  our  task  to  record  any  of 
the  phenomena  of  the  ocean,  but  a  regular,  though 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  157 

fierce  gale  of  wind.  One  of  the  first  signs  of  its  se 
verity  was  the  disappearance  of  the  passengers  from 
the  deck,  one  shutting  himself  in  his  room  after  ano 
ther,  until  none  remained  visible  but  John  Effingham 
and  Paul  Blunt.  Both  these  gentlemen,  as  it  appear 
ed,  had  made  so  many  passages,  and  had  got  to  be 
so  familiar  with  ships,  that  sea-sickness  and  alarms 
were  equally  impotent  as  respects  their  constitutions 
and  temperaments. 

The  poor  steerage-passengers  were  no  exception, 
but  they  stole  for  refuge  into  their  dens,  heartily  re 
pentant,  for  the  time  being,  at  having  braved  the 
dangers  and  discomforts  of  the  sea.  The  gentle 
wife  of  Davis  would  now  willingly  have  returned  to 
meet  the  resentment  of  her  uncle ;  and  as  for  the 
bridegroom  himself,  as  Mr.  Leach,  who  passed 
through  this  scene  of  abominations  to  see  that  all 
was  right,  described  him, — "  Mr.  Grab  wrould  not 
wring  him  for  a  dish-cloth,  if  he  could  see  him  in  his 
present  pickle." 

Captain  Truck  chuckled  a  good  deal  at  this  ac 
count,  for  he  had  much  the  same  sympathy  for  or 
dinary  cases  of  sea-sickness,  as  a  kitten  feels  in  the 
agony  of  the  first  mouse  it  has  caught,  and  which  it 
is  its  sovereign  pleasure  to  play  with,  instead  of 
eating. 

"It  serves  him  right,  Mr.  Leach,  for  getting  mar 
ried  ;  and  mind  you  don't  fall  into  the  same  abuse  of 
your  opportunities,"  he  said,  with  an  air  of  self-satis 
faction,  white  comparing  three  or  four  cigars  in  the 
palm  of  hif'  hand,  doubtful  which  of  the  fragrant 
plump  rolls  to  put  into  his  mouth.  "  Getting  married, 
Mr.  Blunt,  commonly  makes  a  man  a  fit  subject  for 
nausea,  and  nothing  is  easier  than  to  set  the  sto 
mach-pump  in  motion  in  one  of  your  bridegrooms ; 
is  not  this  true  as  the  gospel,  Mr.  John  Effingham  ?" 

Mr.  John  Effingham  made  no  reply, — but  the 
young  man  who  at  the  moment  was  admiring  his 

VOL.  i.  14     • 


158  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

fine  form,  and  the  noble  outline  of  his  features,  was 
singularly  struck  with  the  bitterness,  not  to  say  an 
guish,  of  the  smile  with  which  he  bowed  a  cold  as 
sent.  All  this  was  lost  on  Captain  Truck,  who  pro 
ceeded  con  amore. 

"  One  of  the  first  things  that  I  ask  concerning  my 
passengers  is,  is  he  married  ?  when  the  answer  is 
'  no,'  I  set  him  down  as  a  good  companion  in  a  gale 
like  this,  or  as  one  who  can  smoke,  or  crack  a  joke 
when  a  topsail  is  flying  out  of  a  bolt-rope, — a  com 
panion  for  a  category.  Now,  if  either  of  you  gen 
tlemen  had  Q  wife,  she  would  have  you  under  hatches 
to-day,  lest  you  should  slip  through  a  scupperhole, — 
or  be  washed  overboard  with  the  spray, — or  have 

four  eye-brows  blown  away  in  such  a  gale,  and  then 
should  lose  the  honour  of  your  company.  Comfort 
is  too  precious  to  be  thrown  away  in  matrimony.  A 
man  may  gain  foreknowledge  by  a  wife,  but  he  loses 
free  agency.  As  for  you,  Mr.  John  Effingham,  you 
must  have  coiled  away  about  half  a  century  of  life, 
and  there  is  not  much  to  fear  on  your  account;  but 
Mr.  Blunt  is  still  young  enough  to  be  in  danger  of  a 
mishap.  I  wish  Neptune  would  come  aboard  of  us, 
hereaway,  and  swear  you  to  be  true  and  constant 
to  yourself,  young  gentleman." 

Paul  laughed,  coloured  slightly,  and  then  rallying, 
he  replied  in  the  same  voice. 

"  At  the  risk  of  losing  your  good  opinion,  captain; 
and  even  in  the  face  of  this  gale,  I  shall  avow  my 
self  an  advocate  of  matrimony." 

"  If  you  will  answer  me  one  question,  my  dear 
sir,  I  will  tell  you  whether  the  case  is  or  is  not  hope 
less." 

"  In  order  to  assent  to  this,  you  will  of  course  see 
the  necessity  of  letting  me  know*  what  the  question 
is." 

"  Have  you  made  up  your  mind  who  the  young 
woman  shall  be  ?  If  that  point  is  settled,  I  can  only 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  159 

recommend  to  you  some  of  Joe  Bunk's  souchong, 
and  advise  you  to  submit,  for  there  is  no  resisting 
one's  fate.  The  reason  your  Turks  yield  so  easily 
to  predestination  and  fate,  is  the  number  of  their 
wives.  Many  ci  book  is  written  to  show  the  cause 
of  their  submitting  their  necks  so  easily  to  the  sword 
and  the  bow-string.  I've  been  in  Turkey,  gentle 
men,  and  know  something  of  their  ways.  The  rea 
son  of  their  submitting  so  quietly  to  be  beheaded  is, 
that  they  are  always  ready  to  hang  themselves.  How 
is  the  fact,  sir?  have  you  settled  upon  the  young  lady 
in  your  own  mind  or  not  ?" 

Although  there  was  nothing  in  all  this  but  the  per 
mitted  trifling  of  boon  companions  on  ship-board, 
Paul  Blunt  received  it  with  an  awkwardness  one 
would  hardly  have  expected  in  a  young  man  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  world.  He  reddened,  laughed, 
made  an  effort  to  throw  the  captain  to  a  greater  dis 
tance  by  reserve,  and  in  the  end  fairly  gave  up  the 
matter  by  walking  to  another  part  of  the  deck. 
Luckily,  the  attention  of  the  honest  master  was 
drawn  to  the  ship,  at  that  instant,  and  Paul  flattered 
himself  he  was  unperceived ;  but  the  shadow  of  a 
figure  at  his  elbow  startled  him,  and  turning  quickly, 
he  found  Mr.  John  Effingham  at  his  side. 

"  Her  mother  was  an  angel,"  said  the  latter  husk 
ily.     "  I  too  love  her  ;  but  it  is  as  a  father." 
*  "  Sir  !• — Mr.  Effingham  ! — These  are  sudden  and 
unexpected  remarks,  and  such  as  I  am  not  prepared 
for." 

"  Do  you  think  one  as  jealous  of  that  fair  crea 
ture  as  1,  could  have  overlooked  your  passion? — She 
is  loved  by  both  of  you,  and  she  merits  the  warmest 
affection  of  a  thousand.  Persevere,  for  while  I  have 
no  voice,  and,  I  fear,  little  influence  on  her  decision, 
some  strange  sympathy  causes  me  to  wish  you  suc 
cess.  My  own  man  has  told  me  that  you  have  met 
before,  and  with  her  father's  knowledge,  and  this  is 


160  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

all  I  ask,  for  my  kinsman  is  discreet.  He  probably 
knows  you,  though  I  do  not." 

The  face  of  Paul  glowed  like  fire,  arid  he  almost 
gasped  for  breath.  Pitying  his  distress,  Mr.  Effing- 
ham  smiled  kindly,  and  was  about  to  quit  him,  when 
he  felt  his  hand  convulsively  grasped  by  those  of  the 
young  man. 

"•Do  riot  yet  quit  me,  Mr.  Effingham,  I  entreat 
you,"  he  said  rapidly  ;  "  it  is  so  unusual  for  me  to 
hear  words  of  confidence,  or  even  of  kindness,  that 
they  are  most  precious  to  me  !  I  have  permitted 
myself  to  be  disturbed  by  the  random  remarks  of 
that  well-meaning,  but  unreflecting  man  ;  but  in  a 
moment  I  shall  be  more  composed — more  manly — 
less  unworthy  of  your  attention  and  pity." 

"  Pity  is  a  word  I  should  never  have  thought  of 
applying  to  the  person,  character,  attainments,  or,  as 
I  hoped,  fortunes  of  Mr.  Blunt ;  and  I  sincerely  trust 
that  you  will  acquit  me  of  impertinence.  I  have  felt 
an  interest  in  you,  young  man,  that  I  have  long  ceas 
ed  to  feel  in  most  of  my  species,  and  I  trust  this 
will  be  some  apology  for  the  liberty  I  have  taken. 
Perhaps  the  suspicion  that  you  were  anxious  to  stand 
well  in  the  good  opinion  of  my  little  cousin  was  at 
the  bottom  of  it  all." 

"  Indeed  you  have  not  misconceived  my  anxiety, 
sir ;  for  who  is  there  that  could  be  indifferent  to  the 
good  opinion  of  one  so  simple  and  yet  so  cultivated; 
with  a  mind  in  which  nature  and  knowledge  seem  to 
struggle  for  the  possession.  One,  Mr.  Effingham,  so 
little  like  the  cold  sophistication  and  heartlessness  of 
Europe,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  unformed  girlish- 
ness  of  America,  on  the  other  ;  one,  in  short,  so 
every  way  what  the  fondest  father  or  the  most  sen 
sitive  brother  could  wish." 

John  Effingham  smiled,  for  to  smile  at  any  weak 
ness  was  with  him  a  habit ;  but  his  eye  glistened. 
After  a  moment  of  doubt,  he  turned  to  his  young 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  161 

companion,  and  with  a  delicacy  of  expression  and 
a  dignity  of  manner  that  none  could  excel  him  in, 
when  he  chose,  he  put  a  question  that  for  several 
days  had  been  uppermost  in  his  thoughts,  though  no 
fitting  occasion  had  ever  before  offered,  on  which  he 
thought  he  might  venture. 

"  This  frank  confidence  emboldens  me, — one  who 
ought  to  be  ashamed  to  boast  of  his  greater  expe 
rience,  when  every  day  shows  him  how  little  profit 
it  has  been  turned,  to  presume  to  render  our  ac 
quaintance  less  formal,  by  alluding  to  interests  more 
personal  than  strangers  have  a  right  to  touch  on. 
You  speak  of  the  two  parts  of  the  world  just  men 
tioned,  in  a  way  to  show  me  you  are  equally  ac 
quainted  with  both." 

"  I  have  often  crossed  the  ocean,  and,  for  so  young 
a  man,  have  seen  a  full  share  of  their  societies.  Per 
haps  it  increases  my  interest  in  your  lovely  kins 
woman,  that,  like  myself,  she  properly  belongs  to 
neither." 

**  Be  cautious  how  you  whisper  that  in  her  ear,  rny 
youthful  friend  ;  for  Eve  Effingham  fancies  herself 
as  much  American  in  character  as  in  birth.  Single- 
minded  and  totally  without  management, — devoted 
to  her  duties, — religious  without  cant, — a  warm  friend 
of  liberal  institutions,  without  the  slightest  approach 
to  the  impracticable,  and  in  heart  and  soul  a  woman  ; 
and  you  will  find  it  hard  to  persuade  her,  that  with 
all  her  practice  in  the  world,  and  all  her  extensive 
attainments,  she  is  more  than  a  humble  copy  of  her 
own  great  beau  ideal" 

Paul  smiled,  and  his  eyes  met  those  of  John  Ef 
fingham — the  expression  of  both  satisfied  the  parties 
that  they  thought  alike  in  more  things  than  in  their 
common  admiration  of  the  subject  of  their  dis 
course. 

"  I  feel  I  have  not  been  as  explicit  as  I  ought  to  be 
with  you,  Mr.  Effingham,"  the  young  man  resumed, 

' 


162  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

after  a  pause  ;  **  but  on  a  more  fitting  occasion,  I 
shall  presume  on  your  kindness  to  be  less  reserved. 
My  lot  has  thrown  me  on  the  world,  almost  without 
friends,  quite  without  relatives,  so  far  as  intercourse 
with  them  is  concerned  ;  arid  I  have  known  little  of 
the  language  or  the  acts  of  the  affections." 

John  Effirighatn  pressed  his  hand,  and  from  that 
lime  he  cautiously  abstained  from  any  allusion  to  his 
personal  concerns ;  for  a  suspicion  crossed  his  mind 
that  the  subject  was  painful  to  the  young  man.  He 
knew  that  thousands  of  well-educated  and  frequently 
of  affluent  people,  of  both  sexes,  were  to  be  found  in 
Europe,  to  whom,  from  the  circumstance  of  having 
been  born  out  of  wedlock,  through  divorces,  or 
other  family  misfortunes,  their  private  histories  were 
painful,  and  he  at  once  inferred  that  some  such  event, 
quite  probably  the  first,  lay  at  the  bottom  of  Paul 
Blunt's  peculiar  situation.  Notwithstanding  his  warm 
attachment  to  Eve,  he  had  too  much  confidence  in 
her  own  as  well  as  in  her  father's  judgment,  to  sup 
pose  an  acquaintance  of  any  intimacy  would  be 
lightly  permitted ;  and  as  to  the  mere  prejudices  con 
nected  with  such  subjects,  he  was  quite  free  from 
them.  Perhaps  his  masculine  independence  of  cha 
racter  caused  him,  on  all  such  points,  to  lean  to  the 
side  of  the  ultra  in  liberality. 

In  this  short  dialogue,  with  the  exception  of  the 
slight  though  unequivocal  allusion  of  John  Effing- 
ham,  both  had  avoided  any  farther  allusions  to  Mr. 
Sharp,  or  to  his  supposed  attachment  to  Eve.  Both 
were  confident  of  its  existence,  and  this  perhaps  was 
one  reason  why  neither  felt  any  necessity  to  advert 
to  it;  for  it  was  a  delicate  subject,  and  one,  under 
the  circumstances,  that  they  would  mutually  wish  to 
forget  in  their  cooler  moments.  The  conversation 
then  took  a  more  general  character,  and  for  several 
hours  that  day,  while  the  rest  of  the  passengers  were 
kept  below  by  the  state  of  the  weather,  these  two 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  163 

were  together,  laying,  what  perhaps  it  was  now  too 
late  to  term,  the  foundation  of  a  generous  and  sin 
cere  friendship.  Hitherto  Paul  had  regarded  John 
Erfingham  with  distrust  and  awe ;  but  he  found  him 
a  man  so  different  from  what  report  and  his  own 
fancy  had  pictured,  that  the  reaction  in  his  feelings 
served  to  heighten  them,  and  to  aid  in  increasing  his 
respect.  On  the  other  hand,  the  young  man  exhibit 
ed  so  much  modest  good  sense,  a  fund  of  informa 
tion  so  much  beyond  his  years,  such  integrity  and 
justice  of  sentiment,  that  when  they  separated  for 
the  night,  the  old  bachelor  was  full  of  regret  that  na 
ture  had  not  made  him  the  parent  of  such  a  son. 

All  this  time  the  business  of  the  ship  had  gone  on. 
The  wind  increased  steadily,  until,  as  the  sun  went 
down,  Captain  Truck  announced  it,  in  the  cabin,  to 
be  a  "  regular-built  gale  of  wjnd."  Sail  after  sail 
had  been  reduced  or  furled,  until  the  Montauk  was 
lying-to  under  her  fore-sail,  a  close-reefed  main-top 
sail,  a  fore-top-mast  stay-sail,  and  a  mizen  stay-sail. 
Doubts  were  even  entertained  whether  the  second  of 
these  sails  would  not  have  to  be  handed  soon,  and  the 
fore-sail  itself  reefed. 

The  ship's  head  was  to  the  south-southwest,  her 
drift  considerable,  and  her  way  of  course  barely  suf 
ficient  to  cause  her  to  feel  her  helm.  The  Foam  had 
gained  on  her  several  miles  during  the  time  sail  could 
be  carried ;  but  she,  also,  had  been  obliged  to  heave- 
to,  at  the  same  increase  of  the  sea  and  wind  as  that 
which  had  forced  Mr.  Truck  to  lash  his  wheel  down. 
This  state  of  things  made  a  considerable  change  in 
the  relative  positions  of  the  two  vessels  again.  The 
next  morning  showing  the  sloop-of-war  hull  down, 
and  well  on  the  weather-beam  of  the  packet.  Her 
sharper  mould  and  more  weatherly  qualities  had 
done  her  this  service,  as  became  a  ship  intended  for 
war  and  the  chase. 

At  all  this,  however,  Captain  Truck  laughed.     He 


164  HOMEWARD    ROUND. 

could  riot  be  boarded  in  such  weather,  and  it  was 
matter  of  indifference  where  his  pursuer  might  be, 
so  long  as  he  had  time  to  escape  him,  when  the  gale 
ceased.  On  the  whole,  he  was  rather  glad  than  oth 
erwise  of  the  present  state  of  things,  for  it  offered  a. 
chance  to  slip  away  to  leeward  as  soon  as  the  wea 
ther  would  permit,  if,  indeed,  his  tormentor  did  not 
altogether  disappear  in  the  northern  board,  or  to 
windward. 

The  hopes  and  fears  of  the  worthy  master,  how 
ever,  were  poured  principally  into  the  ears  of  his 
two  mates ;  for  few  of  the  passengers  were  visible 
until  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  the  gale ; 
then,  indeed,  a  general  relief  to  their  physical  suf 
fering  occurred,  though  it  was  accompanied  by  ap 
prehensions  that  scarcely  permitted  the  change  to  be 
enjoyed.  About  noon,  on  that  day,  the  wind  came 
with  such  power,  that  the  seas  poured  down  against 
the  bows  of  the  ship  with  a  violence  so  tremendous, 
that  it  got  to  be  questionable  whether  she  could  re 
main  with  safety  in  her  present  condition  any 
longer.  Several  times  in  the  course  of  the  morning, 
the  waves  had  forced  her  bows  off,  and  before  the 
ship  could  recover  her  position,  the  succeeding  billow 
would  break  against  her  broadside,  and  throw  a  flood 
of  water  on  her  decks.  This  is  a  danger  peculiar  to 
lying-to  in  a  gale  ;  for  if  the  vessel  get  into  the  trough 
of  the  sea,  and  is  met  in  that  situation  by  a  wave  of 
unusual  magnitude,  she  runs  the  double  risk  of  being 
thrown  on  her  beam-ends,  and  of  having  her  decks 
cleared  of  everything,  by  the  cataract  of  water  that 
washes  athwart  them.  Landsmen  entertain  little  no 
tion  of  the  power  of  the  waters,  when  driven  before 
a  tempest,  and  are  often  surprised,  in  reading  of  na 
val  catastrophes,  at  the  description  of  the  injuries 
done.  But  experience  shows  that  boats,  hurricane- 
houses,  guns,  anchors  of  enormous  weight,  bulwarks 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  165 

and  planks,  are  even  swept  off  into  the  ocean,  in  this 
manner,  or  are  ripped  up  from  their  fastenings. 

The  process  of  lying-to  has  a  double  advantage, 
so  long  as  it  can  be  maintained,  since  it  offers  the 
strongest  portion  of  the  vessel  to  the  shock  of  the 
seas,  and  has  the  merit  of  keeping  it  as  near  as  pos 
sible  to  the  desired  direction.  But  it  is  a  middle 
course,  being  often  adopted  as  an  expedient  of  safety 
when  a  ship  cannot  scud ;  and  then,  again,  it  is 
abandoned  for  scudding  when  the  gale  is  so  intense 
ly  severe  that  it  becomes  in  itself  dangerous.  In  no 
thing  are  the  high  qualities  of  ships  so  thoroughly 
tried  as  in  their  manner  of  behaving,  as  it  is  termed, 
in  these  moments  of  difficulty  ;  nor  is  the  seamanship 
of  the  accomplished  officer  so  triumphantly  establish 
ed  in  any  other  part  of  his  professional  knowledge,  as 
when  he  has  had  an  opportunity  of  showing  that  he 
knows  how  to  dispose  of  the  vast  weight  his  vessel  is 
to  carry  so  as  to  enable  her  mould  to  exhibit  its  per 
fection,  and  on  occasion  to  turn  both  to  the  best  ac 
count. 

Nothing  will  seem  easier  to  a  landsman  than  for  a 
vessel  to  run  before  the  wind,  let  the  force  of  the 
gale  be  what  it  may.  But  his  ignorance  overlooks 
most  of  the  difficulties,  nor  shall  we  anticipate  their 
dangers,  but  let  them  take  their  places  in  the  regular 
thread  of  the  narrative. 

Long  before  noon,  or  the  hour  mentioned,  Captain 
Truck  foresaw  that,  in  consequence  of  the  seas  that 
were  constantly  coming  on  board  of  her,  he  should 
be  compelled  to  put  his  ship  before  the  wind.  He 
delayed  the  manoeuvre  to  the  last  moment,  however, 
for  what  he  deemed  to  be  sufficient  reasons.  The 
longer  he  kept  the  ship  lying-to,  the  less  he  deviated 
from  his  proper  course  to  New  York,  and  the  greater 
was  the  probability  of  his  escaping,  stealthily  and 
without  observation  from  the  Foam,  sincelhe  latter, 
by  maintaining  her  position  better,  allowed  the  Mon- 


166  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

tauk  to  drift  gradually  to  leeward,  and,  of  course,  to 
a  greater  distance. 

But  the  crisis  would  no  longer  admit  of  delay.  All 
hands  were  called ;  the  main-topsail  was  hauled  up, 
not  without  much  difficulty,  and  then  Captain  Truck 
reluctantly  gave  the  order  to  haul  down  the  mizen- 
staysail,  to  put  the  helm  hard  up,  and  to  help  the  ship 
round  with  the  yards.  This  is  at  all  times  a  critical 
change,  as  has  just  been  mentioned,  for  the  vessel  is 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  any  sea,  larger  than  com 
mon,  that  may  happen  to  strike  her  as  she  lies,  nearly 
motionless,  with  her  broadside  exposed  to  its  force. 
To  accomplish  it,  therefore,  Captain  Truck  went  up 
a  few  ratlines  in  the  fore-rigging,  (he  was  too  nice  a 
calculator  to  offer  even  a  surface  as  small  as  his  own 
body  to  the  wind,  in  the  after  shrouds,)  whence  he 
looked  out  to  windward  for  a  lull,  and  a  moment 
when  the  ocean  had  fewer  billows  than  common  of 
the  larger  and  more  dangerous  kind.  At  the  desired 
instant  he  signed  with  his  hand,  and  the  wheel  was 
shifted  from  the  hard-down  to  hard-up. 

This  is  always  a  breathless  moment  in  a  ship,  for 
as  none  can  foresee  the  result,  it  resembles  the  en 
trance  of  a  hostile  battery.  A  dozen  men  may  be 
swept  away  in  an  instant,  or  the  ship  herself  hove  over 
on  her  side.  John  Effingham  and  Paul,  who  of  all  the 
passengers  were  alone  on  deck,  understood  the  haz 
ards,  and  they  watched  the  slightest  change  with  the 
interest  of  men  who  had  so  much  at  stake.  At  first, 
the  movement  of  the  ship  was  sluggish,  and  such  as 
ill-suited  the  eagerness  of  the  crew.  Then  her  pitch 
ing  ceased,  and  she  settled  into  the  enormous  trough 
bodily,  or  the  whole  fabric  sunk,  as  it  were,  never  to 
rise  again.  So  low  did  she  fall,  that  the  fore-sail 
gave  a  tremendous  flap;  one  that  shook  the  hull  and 
spars  from  stem  to  stern.  As  she  rose  on  the  next 
surge,  happily  its  foaming  crest  slid  beneath  her,  and 
the  tall  masts  rolled  heavily  to  windward.  Recover- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  167 

ing  her  equilibrium,  the  ship  started  through  the 
brine,  and  as  the  succeeding  roller  came  on,  she  was 
urging  a-head  fast.  Still,  the  sea  struck  her  abeam, 
forcing  her  bodily  to  leeward,  and  heaving  the  lower 
yard-arms  into  the  ocean.  Tons  of  water  fell  on 
her  decks,  with  the  dull  sound  of  the  clod  on  the  cof 
fin.  At  this  grand  moment,  old  Jack  Truck,  who 
was  standing  in  the  rigging,  dripping  with  the  spray, 
that  had  washed  over  him,  with  a  naked  head,  and 
his  grey  hair  glistening,  shouted  like  a  Stentor,  "  Haul 
in  your  fore-braces,  boys  !  away  with  the  yard,  like 
a  fiddlestick !"  Every  nerve  was  strained;  the  un 
willing  yards,  pressed  upon  by  an  almost  irresistible 
column  of  air,  yielded  slowly,  and  as  the  sail  met  the 
gale  more  perpendicularly,  or  at  right  angles  to  its 
surface,  it  dragged  the  vast  hull  through  the  sea  with 
a  power  equal  to  that  of  a  steam-engine.  Ere  an 
other  sea  could  follow,  the  Montauk  was  glancing 
through  the  ocean  at  a  furious  rate,  and  though 
offering  her  quarter  to  the  billows,  their  force  was 
now  so  much  diminished  by  her  own  velocity,  as  to 
deprive  them  of  their  principal  danger. 

The  motion  of  the  ship  immediately  became  easy, 
though  her  situation  was  still  far  from  being  without 
risk.  No  longer  compelled  to  buffet  the  waves,  but 
sliding  along  in  their  company,  the  motion  ceased  to 
disturb  the  systems  of  the  passengers,  and  ten  min 
utes  had  not  elapsed  before  most  of  them  were  again 
on  deck,  seeking  the  relief  of  the  open  air.  Among 
the  others  was  Eve,  leaning  on  the  arm  of  her  father. 

It  was  a  terrific  scene,  though  one  might  now 
contemplate  it  without  personal  inconvenience.  The 
gentlemen  gathered  around  the  beautiful  and  appal 
led  spectatress  of  this  grand  sight,  anxious  to  know 
the  effect  it  might  produce  on  one  of  her  delicate 
frame  and  habits.  She  expressed  herself  as  awed, 
but  not  alarmed  ;  for  the  habits  of  dependance  usual 
ly  leave  females  less  affected  by  fear,  in  such  cases, 


168  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

than  those  who,  by  their  sex,  are  supposed  to  be  re 
sponsible. 

"  Mademoiselle  Viefville  has  promised  to  follow 
me,"  she  said,  "  and  as  I  have  a  national  claim  to  be 
a  sailor,  you  are  not  to  expect  hysterics  or  even  ec 
stasies  from  me  ;  but  reserve  yourselves,  gentlemen, 
for  the  Parisienne." 

The  Parisienne,  sure  enough,  soon  came  out  of 
the  hurricane-house,  with  elevated  hands,  and  eyes 
eloquent  of  admiration,  wonder  and  fear.  Her  first 
exclamations  were  those  of  terror,  and  then  turning 
a  wistful  look  on  Eve,  she  burst  into  tears.  "  Ah, 
ceci  est  decisif!"  she  exclaimed.  "  When  we  part 
we  shall  be  separated  for  life." 

"  Then  we  will  not  part  at  all,  my  dear  made 
moiselle;  you  have  only  to  remain  in  America,  to 
escape  all  future  inconveniences  of  the  ocean.  But 
forget  the  danger,  and  admire  the  sublimity  of  this 
terrific  panorama." 

Well  might  Eve  thus  term  the  scene.  The  hazards 
now  to  be  avoided  were  those  of  the  ship's  broach- 
ing-to,  and  of  being  pooped.  Nothing  may  seem 
easier,  as  has  been  said,  than  to  "  sail  before  the 
wind,"  the  words  having  passed  into  a  proverb ;  but 
there  are  times  when  even  a  favouring  gale  becomes 
prolific  of  dangers,  that  we  shall  now  briefly  explain. 

The  velocity  of  the  water,  urged  as  it  is  before  a 
tempest,  is  often  as  great  as  that  of  the  ship,  and  at 
such  moments  the  rudder  is  useless,  its  whole  power 
being  derived  from  its  action  as  a  moving  body 
against  the  element  in  comparative  repose.  When 
ship  -  and  water  move  together,  at  an  equal  rate,  in 
the  same  direction,  of  course  this  power  of  the  helm 
is  neutralized,  and  then  the  hull  is  driven  much  at  the 
mercy  of  the  winds  and  waves.  Nor  is  this  all ;  the 
rapidity  of  the  billows  often  exceeds  that  of  a  ship, 
and  then  the  action  of  the  rudder  becomes  momen 
tarily  reversed,  producing  an  effect  exactly  opposite 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  109 

io  that  which  is  desired.  It  is  true,  this  last  diffi 
culty  is  never  of  more  than  a  few  moments'  continu 
ance,  else  indeed  would  the  condition  of  the  mariner 
be  hopeless ;  but  it  is  of  constant  occurrence,  and  so 
irregular  as  to  defy  calculations  and  defeat  caution. 
Tn  the  present  instance,  the  Montauk  would  seem  to 
fly  through  the  water,  so  swift  was  her  progress ; 
and  then,  as  a  furious  surge  overtook  her  in  the 
chase,  she  settled  heavily  into  the  element,  like  a 
wounded  animal,  that,  despairing  of  escape,  sinks 
helplessly  in  the  grass,  resigned  to  fate.  At  such 
times  the  crests  of  the  waves  swept  past  her,  like 
vapour  in  the  atmosphere*  and  one  unpractised 
would  be  apt  to  think  the  ship  stationary,  though  in 
truth  whirling  along  in  company  with  a  frightful  mo 
mentum. 

It  is  scarcely 'necessary  to  say,  that  the  process  of 
scudding  requires  the  nicest  attention  to  the  helm,  in 
order  that  the  hull  may  be  brought  speedily  back  to 
the  right  direction,  when  thrown  aside  by  the  power 
of  the  billows ;  for,  besides  losing  her  way  in  the 
caldron  of  water — an  imminent  danger  of  itself,  if 
left  exposed  to  the  attack  of  the  succeeding  waves — 
her  decks,  at  least,  would  be  swept,  even  should  she 
escape  a  still  more  serious  calamity. 

Pooping  is  a  hazard  of  another  nature,  and  is  also 
peculiar  to  the  process  of  scudding.  It  merely  means 
the  ship's  being  overtaken  by  the  waters  while  run 
ning  from  them,  when  the  crest  of  a  sea,  broken  by 
the  resistance,  is  thrown  inboard,  over  the  taffrail  or 
quarter.  The  term  is  derived  from  the  name  of  that  par 
ticular  portion  of  the  ship.  In  order  to  avoid  this  risk, 
sail  is  carried  on  the  vessel  as  long  as  possible,  it  being 
deemed  erne  of  the  greatest  securities  of  scudding,  to 
force  the  hull  through  the  water  at  the  greatest  at 
tainable  rate.  In  consequence  of  these  complicated 
risks,  ships  that  sail  the  fastest  and  steer  the  easiest, 
scud  the  best.  There  is,  however,  a  species  of  velo- 

VOL.  i.  15 


170  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

city  that  becomes  a  source  of  new'  danger  of  itself: 
thus,  exceedingly  sharp  vessels  have  been  known  to 
force  themselves  so  far  into  the  watery  mounds  in 
their  front,  and  to  receive  so  much  of  the  element  on 
deck  as  never  to  rise  again.  This  is  a  fate  to  which 
those  who  attempt  to  sail  the  American  clipper, 
without  understanding  its  properties,  are  peculiarly 
liable.  On  account  of  this  risk,  however,  there  was 
now  no  cause  of  apprehension,  the  full-bowed,  kettle- 
bottomed  Montauk  being  exempt  from  the  danger ; 
though  Captain  Truck  intimated  his  doubts  whether 
the  corvette  would  like  to  brave  the  course  he  had 
himself  adopted. 

In  this  opinion,  the  fact  would  seem  to  sustain  the 
master  of  the  packet ;  for  when  the  night  shut  in,  the 
spars  of  the  Foam  were  faintly  discernible,  drawn 
like  spiders'  webs  on  the  bright  streak  of  the  evening 
sky.  In  a  few  more  minutes,  even  this  tracery, 
which  resembled  that  of  a  magic-lantern,  vanished 
from  the  eyes  of  those  aloft;  for  it  had  not  been 
seen  by  any  on  deck  for  more  than  an  hour. 

The  magnificent  horrors  of  the  scene  increased 
with  the  darkness.  Eve*  and  her  companions  stood 
supported  by  the  hurricane-house,  watching  it  for 
hours,  the  supernatural-looking  light,  emitted  by  the 
foaming  sea,  rendering  the  spectacle  one  of  attrac 
tive  terror.  Even  the  consciousness  of  the  hazards 
heightened  the  pleasure  ;  for  there  was  a  solemn  and 
grand  enjoyment  mingled  with  it  all,  and  the  first 
watch  had  been  set  an  hour  before  the  party  had 
resolution  enough  to  tear  themselves  from  the  sub 
lime  sight  of  a  raging  sea. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  171 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Touch,  Wast  ever  in  court,  shepherd  ? 

Cor.  No  truly. 

Touch.  Then  thou  art  damn'd. 

Cor.  Nay,  I  hope 

Touch.  Truly,  thou  art  damn'd,  like  an  ill-roasted  egg  all  on 
one  side. 

Jls  you  Like,  It. 

No  one  thought  of  seeking  his  berth  when  all  the 
passengers  were  below.  Some  conversed  in  broken, 
half  intelligible  dialogues,  a  few  tried  unavailingly  to 
read,  and  more  sat  looking  at  each  other  in  silent 
misgivings,  as  the  gale  howled  through  the  cordage 
and  spars,  or  among  the  angles  and  bulwarks  of  the 
ship.  Eve  was  seated  on  a  sofa  of  her  own  apart 
ment,  leaning  on  the  breast  of  her  father,  gazing 
silently  through  the  open  doors  into  the  forward 
cabin ;  for  all  idea  of  retiring  within  oneself,  unless 
it  might  be  to  secret  prayer,  was  banished  from  the 
mind.  Even  Mr.  Dodge  had  forgotten  the  gnaw- 
ings  of  envy,  his  philanthropical  and  exclusive  de 
mocracy,  and,  what  was  perhaps  more  convincing 
still  of  his  passing  views  of  this  sublunary  world,  his 
profound  deference  for  rank,  as  betrayed  in  his 
strong  desire  to  cultivate  an  intimacy  with  Sir 
George  Templemore.  As  for  the  baronet  himself, 
he  sat  by  the  cabin-table  with  his  face  buried  in  his 
hands,  and  once  he  had  been  heard  to  express  a  re 
gret  that  he  had  ever  embarked. 

Saunders  broke  the  moody  stillness  of  this  charac 
teristic  party,  with  preparations  for  a  supper.  He 
took  but  one  end  of  the  table  for  his  cloth,  and  a  sin 
gle  cover  showed  that  Captain  Truck  was  about  to 
dine,  a  thing  he  had  not  yet  done  that  day.  The 


172  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

attentive  steward  had  an  eye  to  his  commander's 
tastes ;  for  it  is  not  often  one  sees  a  better  garnished 
board  than  was  spread  on  this  occasion,  so  far  at 
least  as  quantity  was  concerned.  Besides  the  usual 
solids  of  ham,  corned-beef,  and  roasted  shoat,  there 
were  carcasses  of  ducks,  pickled  oysters, — a  delicacy 
almost  peculiar  to  America, — and  all  the  minor  con 
diments  of  olives,  anchovies,  dates,  figs,  almonds, 
raisins,  cold  potatoes  arid  puddings,  displayed  in  a 
single  course,  and  arranged  on  the  table  solely  with 
regard  to  the  reach  of  Captain  Truck's  arm.  Al 
though  Saunders  was  not  quite  without  taste,  he  too 
well  knew  the  propensities  of  his  superior  to  neglect 
any  of  these  important  essentials,  and  great  care  was 
had,  in  particular,  so  to  dispose  of  everything  as  to 
render  the  whole  so  many  radii  diverging  from  a 
common  centre,  which  centre  was  the  stationary 
arm-chair  that  the  master  of  the  packet  loved  to  fill 
in  his  hours  of  ease. 

"  You  will  make  many  voyages,  Mr.  Toast," — the 
steward  affectedly  gave  his  subordinate,  or  as  he 
was  sometimes  facetiously  called,  the  steward's  mate, 
reason  to  understand,  when  they  had  retired  to  the 
pantry  to  await  the  captain's  appearance, — "  before 
you  accumulate  all  the  niceties  of  a  gentleman's  din 
ner.  Every  plat"  (Saunders  had  been  in  the  Havre 
line,  where  he  had  caught  a  few  words  of  this  na 
ture,)  "  every  plat  should  be  within  reach  of  the  con 
vive's  arm,  and  particularly  if  it  happen  to  be  Cap 
tain  Truck,  who  has  a  great  awersion  to  delays  at 
his  diet.  As  for  the  entremets,  they  may  be  scat 
tered  miscellaneously  with  the  salt  and  the  mustard, 
so  that  they  can  come  with  facility  in  their  proper 
places." 

"  I  don't  know  what  an  entremet  is,"  returned  the 
subordinate,  "  and  I  exceedingly  desire,  sir,  to  re 
ceive  my  orders  in  such  English  as  a  gentleman  can 
diwine." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  173 

"An  entremet,  Mr.  Toast,  is  a  mouthful  thrown  in 
promiscuously  between  the  reliefs  of  the  solids.  Now, 
suppose  a  gentleman  begins  on  pig ;  when  he  has 
eaten  enough  of  this,  he  likes  a  little  brandy  and 
water,  or  a  glass  of  porter,  before  he  cuts  into  the 
beef;  and  while  I'm  mixing  the  first,  or  starting  the 
cork,  he  refreshes  himself  with  an  entremet,  such  as 
a  wing  of  a  duck,  or  perhaps  a  plate  of  pickled  oys 
ters.  You  must  know  that -there  is  great  odds  in 
passengers ;  one  set  eating  and  jollifying,  from  the 
hour  we  sail  till  the  hour  we  get  in,  while  another 
takes  the  ocean  as  it  might  be  sentimentally." 

"  Sentimentally,  sir  !  I  s'pose  those  be  they  as  uses 
the  basins  uncommon?" 

"  That  depends  on  the  weather.  I've  known  a 
party  not  eat  as  much  as  would  set  one  handsome 
table  in  a  week,  and  then,  when  they  conwalesced,  it 
was  intimidating  how  they  dewoured.  It  makes  a 
great  difference,  too,  whether  the  passengers  acqui 
esce  well  together  or  not,  for  agreeable  feelings  give 
a  fine  appetite.  Lovers  make  cheap  passengers  al 
ways." 

"  That  is  extr'or'nary,  for  I  thought  such  as  they 
was  always  hard  to  please,  with  every  thing  but  one 
another." 

"  You  never  were  more  mistaken.  I've  seen  a 
lover  who  couldn't  tell  a  sweet  potato  from  an  onion, 
or  a  canvas-back  from  an  old  wife.  But  of  all  mor 
tals  in  the  way  of  passengers,  the  bag-man  or  go-be 
tween  is  my  greatest  animosity.  These  fellows  will 
sit  up  all  night,  if  the  captain  consents,  and  lie  abed 
next  day,  and  do  nothing  but  drink  in  their  berths. 
Now,  this  time  wre  have  a  compilable  set,  and  on  the 
whole,  it  is  quite  a  condescension  and  pleasure  to 
wait  on  them." 

"  Well,  I  think,  Mr.  Saunders,  they  isn't  alike  'as 
much  as  they  might  be  nother." 

"  Not  more  so  than  wenison  and  pig.  Perfectly 
15* 


174  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

correct,  sir  ;  for  this  cabin  is  a  lobskous  as  regards 
deportment  and  character.  1  set  all  the  Effinghams 
down  as  tip-tops,  or,  A  No.  1,  as  Mr.  Leach  calls  the 
ship;  and  then  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt  are  quite 
the  gentlemen.  Nothing  is  easier,  Mr.  Toast,  than 
to  tell  a  gentleman  ;  and  as  you  have  set  up  a  new 
profession, — in  which  I  hope,  for  the  credit  of  the 
colour,  you  will  be  prosperous, — it  is  well  worth 
your  while  to  know  how  this  is  done,  especially 
as  you  need  never  expect  much  from  a  passenger, 
that  is  not  a  true  gentleman,  but  trouble.  There  is 
Mr.  John  Effingham,  in  particular.  His  man  says 
he  never  anticipates  change,  and  if  a  coat  confines 
his  arm,  he  repudiates  it  on  the  spot." 

"  Well,  it  must  be  a  satisfaction  to  serve  such  a 
companion.  I  think  Mr.  Dodge,  sir,  quite  a  feller." 
"  Your  taste,  Toast,  is  getting  to  be  observable, 
and  by  cultivating  it,  you  will  soon  be  remark 
able  for  a  knowledge  of  mankind.  Mr.  Dodge,  as 
you  werry  justly  insinuate,  is  not  worry  refined,  or  par 
ticularly  well  suited  to  figure  in  genteel  society." 

"  And  yet  he  seems  attached  to  it,  Mr.  Saunders, 
for  he  has  purposed  to  establish  five  or  six  societies 
since  we  sailed." 

"  Werry  true,  sir ;  but  then  every  society  is  not 
genteel.  When  we  get  back  to  New  York,  Toast,  I 
must  see  and  get  you  into  a  better  set  than  the  one 
you  occupied  when  we  sailed.  You  will  not  do  yet 
for  our  circle,  which  is  altogether  conclusive  ;  but 
you  might  be  elevated.  Mr.  Dodge  has  been  elec 
tioneering  with  me,  to  see  if  we  cannot  inwent  a  so 
ciety  among  the  steerage-passengers  for  the  absti 
nence  of  liquors,  and  another  for  the  perpetration  of 
the  morals  and  religious  principles  of  our  forefathers. 
As  for  the  first,  Toast,  I  told  him  it  was  sufficiently 
indurable  to  be  confined  in  a  hole  like  the  steerage, 
without  being  percluded  from  the  consolation  of  a 
little  drink;  and  as  for  the  last,  it  appeared  to  me 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  175 

that  such  a  preposition  inwolvved  an  attack  on  liberty 
of  conscience." 

"  There  you  give'd  him,  sir,  quite  as  good  as  he 
sent,"  returned  the  steward's  mate,  chuckling,  or 
perhaps  sniggering  would  be  a  word  better  suited  to 
his  habits  of  cachinnation,  "  and  1  should  have  been 
glad  to  witness  his  confusion.  It  seems  to  me,  Mr, 
Saunders,  that  Mr.  Dodge  loves  to  get  up  his  socie 
ties  in  support  of  liberty  and  religion,  that  he  may 
predominate  over  both  by  his  own  inwentions." 

SaundenOlaid  his  long  yellow  finger  on  the  broad 
flat  nose  of  his  mate,  with  an  air  of  approbation,  as 
he  replied, 

"  Toast,  you  have  hit  his  character  as  pat  as  I 
touch  your  Roman.  He  is  a  man  fit  to  make  prose 
lytes  among  the  wulgar  and  Irish," — the  Hibernian 
peasant  and  the  American  negro  are  sworn  enemies, 
— "  but  quite  unfit  for  anything  respectable  or  decent. 
Were  it  not  for  Sir  George,  I  would  scarcely  de 
scend  to  clean  his  state-room." 

"  What  is  your  sentiments,  Mr.  Saunders,  respect 
ing  Sir  George  ?" 

"Why,  Sir  George  is  a  titled  gentleman,  and  of 
course  is  not  to  be  strictured  too  freely.  He  has 
complimented  me  already  with  a  sovereign,  and  ap 
prised  me  of  his  intention  to  be  more  particular  when 
we  get  in." 

"  1  feel  astonished  such  a  gentleman  should  neglect 
to  insure  a  state-room  to  his  own  convenience." 

"  Sir  George  has  elucidated  all  that  in  a  conver 
sation  we  had  in  his  room,  soon  after  our  acquaint 
ance  commenced.  He  is  going  to  Canada  on  pub 
lic  business,  and  sailed  at  an  hour's  interval.  He 
was  too  late  for  a  single  room,  and  his  own  man  is 
to  follow  with  most  of  his  effects  by  the  next  ship. 
Oh!  Sir  George  may  be  safely  put  down  as  respect 
able  and  liberalized,  though  thrown  into  disparage 
ment  perhaps  by  forty  circumstances." 


176  HOMEWARD    BOUXD, 

Mr.  Saunders,  who  had  run  his  vocabulary  hard 
in  this  conversation,  meant  to  say  "  fortuitous;"  and 
Toast  thought  that  so  many  circumstances  might 
well  reduce  a  better  man  to  a  dilemma.  After  a 
moment  of  thought,  or  what  in  his  orbicular  shining 
features  he  fancied  passed  for  thought,  he  said, — 

"  I  seem  to  diwine,  Mr.  Saunders,  that  the  Efling- 
hams  do  not  much  intimate  Sir  George." 

Saunders  looked  out  of  the  pantry-door  to  recon 
noitre,  and  finding  the  same  sober  quiet  reigning  as 
that  already  described,  he  opened  a  drawer,  and 
drew  forth  a  London  newspaper. 

"  To  treat  you  with  the  confidence  of  a  gentleman 
in  a  situation  as  respectable  and  responsible  as  the 
one  you  occupy,  Mr.  Toast,"  he  said,  "  a  little  ewent 
has  transpired  in  my  presence  yesterday,  that  I 
thought  sufficiently  particular  to  be  designated  by 
retaining  this  paper.  Mr.  Sharp  and  Sir  George 
happened  to  be  in  the  cabin  together,  alone,  and  the 
first,  as  it  suggested  to  me,  Toast,  was  desirous  of 
removing  some  of  the  haughter  of  the  last,  for  you 
may  have  observed  that  there  has  been  no  conver 
sation  between  any  of  the  Effinghams,  or  Mr.  Blunt, 
or  Mr.  Sharp,  and  the  baronet ;  and  so  to  break  the 
ice  of  his  haughter,  as  it  might  be,  Sir  George  says, 
'Really,  Mr.  Sharp,  the  papers  have  got  to  be  so 
personally  particular,  that  one  cannot  run  into  the 
country  for  a  mouthful  of  fresh  air  that  they  don't 
record  it.  Now,  I  thought  not  a  soul  knew  of  my 
departure  for  America,  and  yet  here  you  see  they 
have  mentioned  it,  writh  more  particulars  than  are 
agreeable.'  On  concluding,  Sir  George  gave  Mi- 
Sharp  this  paper,  and  indicated  this  here  paragraph. 
Mr.  Sharp  perused  it,  laid  down  the  paper,  and  re 
torted  coldly,  '  It  is  indeed  quite  surprising,  sir;  but 
impudence  is  a  general  fault  of  the  age.'  And  then 
he  left  the  cabin  solus,  Sir  George  was  so  wexed,  he 
went  into  his  state-room  and  forgot  the  paper,  which 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  177 

fell  to  the  steward,  you  know,  on  a  principle  laid 
down  in  Wattel,  Toast." 

Here  the  two  worthies  indulged  in  a  smothered 
merriment  of  their  own  at  the  expense  of  their  com 
mander  ;  for  though  a  dignified  man  in  general,  Mr. 
Saunders  could  laugh  on  occasion,  and  according  to 
his  own  opinion  of  himself  he  danced  particularly 
well. 

"Would  you  like  to  read  the  paragraph,  Mr. 
Toast  ?" 

"Quite  unnecessary,  sir;  your  account  will  be 
perfectly  legible  and  satisfactory." 

By  this  touch  of  politeness,  Mr.  Toast,  who  knew 
as  much  of  the  art  of  reading  as  a  monkey  com 
monly  knows  of  mathematics,  got  rid  of  the  awk 
wardness  of  acknowledging  the  careless  manner  in 
which  he  had  trifled  with  his  early  opportunities. 
Luckily,  Mr.  Saunders,  who  had  been  educated  as  a 
servant  in  a  gentleman's  family,  was  better  off,  and 
as  he  was  vain  of  all  his  advantages,  he  was  particu 
larly  pleased  to  have  an  opportunity  of  exhibiting 
them.  Turning  to  the  paragraph  he  read  the  follow 
ing  lines,  in  that  sort  of  didactic  tone  and  elaborate 
style  with  which  gentlemen  who  commence  the  graces 
after  thirty  are  a  little  apt  to  make  bows. 

"  We  understand  Sir  George  Templernore,  Bart, 
the  member  for  Boodleigh,  is  about  to  visit  our 
American  colonies,  with  a  view  to  make  himself  in 
timately  acquainted  with  the  merits  of  the  unpleasant 
questions  by  which  they  are  just  now  agitated,  and 
with  the  intention  of  entering  into  the  debates  in  the 
house  on  that  interesting  subject  on  his  return.  We 
believe  that  Sir  George  will  sail  in  the  packet  of  the 
first  from  Liverpool,  and  will  return  in  time  to  be  in 
his  seat  after  the  Easter  holidays.  His  people  and 
effects  left  town  yesterday  by  the  Liverpool  coach. 
During  the  baronet's  absence,  his  country  will  be 


1/8  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

hunted  by  Sir  Gervaise  de  Brush,  though  the  estab 
lishment  at  Templemore  Hall  will  be  kept  up." 

"  How  came  Sir  George  here,  then  ?"  Mr.  Toast 
very  naturally  inquired. 

"  Having  been  kept  too  late  in  London,  he  was  ob 
liged  to  come  this  way  or  to  be  left.  It  is  sometimes 
as  close  work  to  get  the  passengers  on  board,  Mr. 
Toast,  as  to  get  the  people.  I  have  often  admired 
how  gentlemen  and  ladies  love  procrastinating,  when 
dishes  that  ought  to  be  taken  hot,  are  getting  to  be 
quite  insipid  and  uneatable." 

"  Saunders  !"  cried  the  hearty  voice  of  Captain 
Truck,  who  had  taken  possession  of  what  he  called 
his  throne  in  the  cabin.  All  the  steward's  elegant 
diction  and  finish  of  demeanour  vanished  at  the  well- 
known  sound,  and  thrusting  his  head  out  of  the  pan 
try-door,  he  gave  the  prompt  ship-answer  to  a  call, 
"  Ay,  ay,  sir  !" 

"  Come,  none  of  your  dictionary  in  the  pantry 
there,  but  show  your  physiognomy  in  my  presence, 
What  the  devil  do  you  think  Vattel  would  say  to 
such  a  supper  as  this  ?" 

"  I  think,  sir,  he  would  call  it  awerry  good  supper, 
for  a  ship  in  a  hard  gale  of  wind.  That's  my  honest 
opinion,  Captain  Truck,  and  I  never  deceive  any  gen= 
tleman  in  a  matter  of  food.  I  think,  Mr.  Watte! 
would  approve  of  that  there  supper,  sir." 

"Perhaps  he  might,  for  he  has  made  blunders  as 
well  as  another  man.  Go,  mix  me  a  glass  of  just 
what  I  love,  when  I've  not  had  a  drop  all  day.  Gen 
tlemen,  will  any  of  you  honour  me,  by  sharing  in  a 
cut  ?  This  beef  is  not  indigestible,  and  here  is  a 
real  Marylander,  in  the  way  of  a  ham.  No  want  of 
oakurn  to  fill  up  the  chinks  with,  either." 

Most  of  the  gentlemen  were  too  full  of  the  gale  to 
wish  to  eat ;  besides  they  had  not  fasted  like  Captain 
Truck  since  morning.  But  Mr.  Monday,  the  bag 
man,  as  John  Effingham  had  termed  him,  and  who 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  179 

had  been  often  enough  at  sea  to  know  something  of 
its  varieties,  consented  to  take  a  glass  of  brandy  and 
water,  as  a  corrective  of  the  Madeira  he  had  been 
swallowing.  The  appetite  of  Captain  Truck  was 
little  affected  by  the  state  of  the  weather,  however  ; 
for  though  too  attentive  to  his  duties  to  quit  the  deck 
until  he  had  ascertained  how  matters  were  going  on, 
now  that  he  had  fairly  made  up  his  mind  to  eat,  he 
set  about  it  with  a  heartiness  and  simplicity  that, 
proved  his  total  disregard  of  appearances,  when  his 
hunger  was  sharp.  For  some  time  he  was  too  much 
occupied  to  talk,  making  regular  attacks  upon  the 
different  plats,  as  Mr.  Saunders  called  them,  without 
much  regard  to  the  cookery  or  the  material,  The 
only  pauses  were  to  drink,  and  this  was  always  done 
with  a  steadiness  that  never  left  a  drop  in  the  glass. 
Still  Mr.  Truck  was  a  temperate  man  ;  for  he  never 
consumed  more  than  his  physical  wants  appeared  to 
require,  or  his  physical  energies  knew  how  to  dis* 
pose  of.  At  length,  however,  he  came  to  the  stew 
ard's  entremets,  or  he  began  to  stuff  what  he,  him 
self,  had  called  the  "  oakum,"  into  the  chinks  of  his 
dinner. 

Mr.  Sharp  had  watched  the  whole  process  from 
the  ladies'  cabin,  as  indeed  had  Eve,  and  thinking 
this  a  favourable  occasion  to  ascertain  the  state  of 
things  on  deck,  the  former  came  into  the  main-cabin, 
commissioned  by  the  latter,  to  make  the  inquiry. 

"  The  ladies  are  desirous  of  knowing  where  we 
are,  and  what  is  the  state  of  the  gale,  Captain 
Truck,"  said  the  gentleman,  when  he  had  seated  him 
self  near  the  throne. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  called  out  the  captain,  by 
way  of  cutting  short  the  diplomacy  of  employing 
ambassadors  between  them,  "  I  wish  in  my  heart  I 
could  persuade  you  and  Mademoiselle  V.  A.  V.,  (for 
so  he  called  the  governess,  in  imitation  of  Eve's  pro 
nunciation  of  her  name,)  to  try  a  few  of  these  pickled 
oysters ;  they  are  as  delicate  as  yourselves,  and  wor- 


180  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

thy  to  be  set  before  a  mermaid,  if  there  were  any 
such  thing." 

"  I  thank  you  for  the  compliment,  Captain  Truck, 
and  while  I  ask  leave  to  decline  it,  I  beg  leave  to  re 
fer  you  to  the  plenipotentiary  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville"  (Eve  would  not  say  herself)  "  has  intrusted 
with  her  wishes." 

"Thus  you  perceive,  sir,"  interposed  Mr.  Sharp 
again,  "you  will  have  to  treat  with  me,  by  all  the 
principles  laid  down  by  Yattel." 

"  And  treat  you,  too,  my  good  sir.  Let  me  per 
suade  you  to  try  a  slice  of  this  anti-abolitionist,"  lay 
ing  his  knife  on  the  ham,  which  he  still  continued  to 
regard  himself  with  a  sort  of  melancholy  interest. 
"  No ;  well,  I  hold  over-persuasion  as  the  next  thing 
to  neglect.  I  am  satisfied,  sir,  after  all,  as  Saunders 
says,  that  Vattel  himself,  unless  more  unreasonable 
at  his  grub  than  in  matters  of  state,  would  be  a  hap 
pier  man  after  he  had  been  at  this  table  twenty  mi 
nutes,  than  before  he  sat  down." 

Mr.  Sharp  perceiving  that  it  was  idle  to  pursue  his 
inquiry,  while  the  other  was  in  one  of  his  discursive 
humours,  determined  to  let  things  take  their  course, 
and  fell  into  the  captain's  own  vein. 

"  If  Vattel  would  approve  of  the  repast,  few  men 
ought  to  repine  at  their  fortune  in  being  so  well  pro 
vided." 

"  I  flatter  myself,  sir,  that  I  understand  a  supper, 
especially  in  a  gale  of  wind,  as  well  as  Mr.  Vattel, 
or  any  other  man  could  do." 

"And  yet  Vattel  was  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
cooks  of  his  day." 

Captain  Truck  stared,  looked  his  grave  companion 
steadily  in  the  eye,  for  he  was  too  much  addicted  to 
mystifying,  not  to  distrust  others,  and  picked  his  teeth 
with  redoubled  vigilance. 

"  Vattel  a  cook  !  This  is  the  first  I  ever  heard 
of  it." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  181 

"  There  was  a  Vattel,  in  a  former  age,  who  stood 
at  the  head  of  his  art  as  a  cook ;  this  I  can  assure 
you,  on  my  honour:  he  may  not  have  been  your 
Vattel,  however." 

"  Sir,  there  never  were  two  Vattels.  This  is  ex 
traordinary  news  to  me,  and  I  scarcely  know  how  to 
receive  it." 

"  If  you  doubt  my  information,  you  may  ask  any 
of  the  other  passengers.  Either  of  the  Mr.  Effinghams, 
or  Mr.  Blunt,  or  Miss  Effingham,  or  Mademoiselle 
Viefville  will  confirm  what  I  tell  you,  I  think,  espe 
cially  the  latter,  for  he  was  her  countryman." 

Hereupon  Captain  Truck  began  to  stuff  in  the 
oakum  again,  for  the  calm  countenance  of  Mr. 
Sharp  produced  an  effect ;  and  as  he  was  ponder 
ing  on  the  consequences  of  his  oracle's  turning  out 
to  be  a  cook,  he  thought  it  not  amiss  to  be  eating,  as 
it  were,  incidentally.  After  swallowing  a  dozen 
olives,  six  or  eight  anchovies,  as  many  pickled  oys 
ters,  and  raisins  and  almonds,  as  the  advertisements 
say  a  volo?ile,  he  suddenly  struck  his  fist  on  the  table, 
and  announced  his  intention  of  putting  the  question 
to  both  the  ladies. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  he  called  out,  "  will  you 
do  me  the  honour  to  say  whether  you  ever  heard  of 
a  cook  of  the  name  of  Vattel  ?" 

Eve  laughed,  and  her  sweet  tones  were  infectious 
amid  the  dull  howling  of  the  gale,  which  was  con 
stantly  heard  in  the  cabins,  like  a  bass  accompani 
ment,  or  the  distant  roar  of  a  cataract  among  the 
singing  of  birds. 

"  Certainly,  captain,"  she  answered  ;  "  Mr.  Vattel 
was  not  only  a  cook,  out  perhaps  the  most  celebrat 
ed  on  record,  for  sentiment  at  least,  if  not  for  skill." 

"  I  make  no  doubt  the  man  did  his  work  well,  let 
him  be  set  about  what  he  might;  and,  mademoiselle, 
he  was  a  countryman  of  yours,  they  tell  me?" 

VOL.  i.  16 


182  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  Assurement,  Monsieur  Vattel  has  left  more  dis 
tinguished  souvenirs  than  any  other  cook  in  France." 

Captain  Truck  turned  quickly  to  the  elated  and 
admiring  Saunders,  who  felt  his  own  glory  enhanced 
by  this  important  discovery,  and  said  in  that  short 
hand  way  he  had  of  expressing  himself  to  the  chief 
of  the  pantry, 

"  Do  you  hear  that,  sir ;  see  and  find  out  what 
they  are,  and  dress  me  a  dish  of  these  souvenirs  as 
soon  as  we  get  in.  I  dare  say  they  are  to  be  had  at 
the  Fulton  market,  and  mind  while  there  to  look  out 
for  some  tongues  and  sounds.  I've  not  made  half  a 
supper  to-night,  for  the  want  of  them.  I  dare  say 
these  souvenirs  are  capital  eating,  if  Monsieur  Vat 
tel  thought  so  highly  of  them.  Pray,  mademoiselle, 
is-the  gentleman  dead  ?" 

"  Helas,  oui !  How  could  he  live  with  a  sword  run 
through  his  body  ?' 

"  Ha  !  killed  in  a  duel,  I  declare ;  died  fighting  for 
his  principles,  if  the  truth  were  known  !  I  shall  have 
a  double  respect  for  his  opinion,  for  this  is  the  touch 
stone  of  a  man's  honesty.  Mr.  Sharp,  let  us  take  a 
glass  of  Geissenheimer  to  his  memory ;  we  might 
honour  a  less  worthy  man." 

As  the  captain  poured  out  the  liquor,  a  fall  of  seve 
ral  tons  of  water  on  the  deck  shook  the  entire  ship, 
and  one  of  the  passengers  in  the  hurricane-house, 
opening  a  door  to  ascertain  the  cause,  the  sound  of 
the  hissing  waters,  and  of  the  roaring  winds  came 
fresher  and  more  distinct  into  the  cabin.  Mr.  Truck 
cast  an  eye  at.  the  tell-tale  over  his  head  to  ascertain 
the  course  of  the  ship,  and  paused  just  an  instant, 
and  then  tossed  off  his  wine. 

"  This  hint  reminds  me  of  my  mission,'*  Mr.  Sharp 
rejoined.  "  The  ladies  desire  to  know  your  opinion 
of  the  state  of  the  weather  ?" 

"  I  owe  them  an  answer  if  it  were  only  in  grati 
tude  for  the  hint  about  Vattel.  Who  the  devil  would 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  183 

have  supposed  the  man  ever  was  a  cook!  But  these 
Frenchmen  are  not  like  the  rest  of  mankind,  and 
half  the  nation  are  cooks,  or  live  by  food,  in  some 
way  or  other." 

"  And  very  good  cooks,  too,  Monsieur  le  Capi- 
taine,"  said  Mademoiselle  Viefville.  "  Monsieur  Vat- 
tel  did  die  for  the  honour  of  his  art.  He  fell  on  his 
own  sword,  because  the  fish  did  not  arrive  in  season 
for  the  dinner  of  the  king." 

Captain  TriTck  looked  more  astonished  than  ever. 
Then  turning  short  round  to  the  steward,  he  shook 
his  head  and  exclaimed, 

"Do  you  hear  that,  sir!  How  often  would  you 
have  died,  if  a  sword  had  been  run  through  you 
every  time  the  fish  was  forgotten,  or  was  too  late? 
Once  to  a  dead  certainty,  about  these  very  tongues 
and  sounds." 

"But  the  weather?"  interrupted  Mr.  Sharp. 
"  The  weather,  my  dear  sir  ;  the  weather,  my  dear 
ladies,  is  very  good  weather,  wfth  the  exception  of 
winds  and  waves,  of  which  unfortunately  there  are, 
just  now,  more  of  both  than  we  want.  The  ship 
must  scud,  and  as  we  go  like  a  race-horse,  without 
stopping  to  take  breath,  we  may  see  the  Canary  Isl 
ands  before  the  voyage  is  over.  . Of  danger  there  is 
none  in  this  ship,  as  long  as  we  can  keep  clear  of  the 
land,  and  in  order  that  this  may  be  done,  I  will  just 
step  into  my  state-room,  and  find  out  exactly  where 
we  are." 

On  receiving  this  information,  the  passengers  re 
tired  for  the  night,  Captain  Truck  setting  about  his 
task  in  good  earnest.  The  result  of  his  calculations 
showed  that  they  would  run  westward  of  Madeira, 
which  was  all  he  cared  about  immediately,  intend 
ing  always  to  haul  up  to  his  course  on  the  first  good 
occasion, 


_ 
184  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 


There  are  yet  two  things  in  my  destiny — 
A  world  to  roam  o'er,  and  a  home  with  thee. 

BTKOX. 


EVE  EFFINGHAM  slept  little:  although  the  motion 
of  the  ship  had  been  much  more  severe  and  uncom 
fortable  while  contending  with  head-winds,  on  no 
other  occasion  were  there  so  many  signs  of  a  fierce 
contention  of  the  elements  as  in  this  gale.  As  she 
lay  in  her  berth,  her  ear  was  within  a  foot  of  the 
roaring  waters  without,  and  her  frame  trembled  as 
she  heard  them  gurgling  so  distinctly,  that  it  seemed 
as  if  they  had  already  forced  their  way  through  the 
seams  of  the  planks,  and  were  filling  the  ship.  Sleep 
she  could  not,  for  a  long  time,  therefore,  and  during 
two  hours  she  remained  with  closed  eyes  an  entranc 
ed  and  yet  startled  listener  of  the  fearful  strife  that 
was  raging  over  the  ocean.  Night  had  no  stillness, 
for  the  roar  of  the  winds  and  waters  was  incessant, 
though  deadened  by  the  intervening  decks  and  sides ; 
but  now  and  then  an  open  door  admitted,  as  it  might 
be,  the  whole  scene  into  the  cabins.  At  such  mo 
ments  every  sound  was  fresh,  and  frightfully  grand, 
— even  the  shout  of  the  officer  coming  to  the  ear 
like  a  warning  cry  from  the  deep.  - 

At  length  Eve,  wearied  by  her  apprehensions  even, 
fell  into  a  troubled  sleep,  in  which  her  frightened  fa 
culties,  however,  kept  so  much  on  the  alert,  that  at 
no  time  was  the  roar  of  the  tempest  entirely  lost  to 
her  sense  of  hearing*  About  midnight  the  glare  of 
a  candle  crossed  her  eyes,  and  she  was  broad  awake 
in  an  instant.  On  rising  in  her  berth  she  found 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  185 

Nanny  Sidley,  who  had  so  often  and  so  long  watch 
ed  over  her  infant  and  childish  slumbers,  standing  at 
her  side,  and  gazing  wistfully  in  her  face. 

"  'Tis  a  dread  night,  Miss  Eve,"  half  whispered 
the  appalled  domestic.  "  I  have  not  been  able  to 
sleep  for  thinking  of  you,  and  of  what  might  hap 
pen  on  these  wide  waters  !" 

"  And  why  of  me  particularly,  my  good  Nanny  ?" 
returned  Eve,  smiling  in  the  face  of  her  old  nurse 
as  sweetly  as  the  infant  smiles  in  its  moments  of  ten 
derness  and  recollection.  "  Why  so  much  of  me, 
my  excellent  Anne  ? — are  there  not  others  too, 
worthy  of  your  care,  my  beloved  father — your  own 
good  self — Mademoiselle  Viefville — Cousin  Jack — 
and — "  the  warm  colour  deepened  on  the  cheek  of 
the  beautiful  girl,  she  scarcely  knew  why  herself; 
"  and  many  others  in  the  vessel,  that  one,  kind  as 
you,  might  think  of,  I  should  hope,  when  your 
thoughts  become  apprehensions,  and  your  wishes 
prayers." 

"  There  are  many  precious  souls  in  the  ship, 
ma'am,  out  of  all  question;  and  I'm  sure  no  one 
wishes  them  all  safe  on  land  again  more  than  my 
self;  but  it  seems  to  me,  no  one  among  them  all  is  so 
much  loved  as  you." 

Eve  leaned  forward  playfully,  and  drawing  her 
old  nurse  towards  her,  kissed  her  cheek,  while  her 
own  eyes  glistened,  and  then  she  laid  her  flushed 
cheek  on  that  bosom  which  had  so  frequently  been 
its  pillow  before.  After  remaining  a  minute  in  this 
affectionate  attitude,  she  rose  and  inquired  if  her 
nurse  had  been  on  deck. 

"  I  go  every  half-hour,  Miss  Eve;  for  I  feel  it  as 
much  my  duty  to  watch  over  you  here,  as  when  I 
had  you  all  to  myself  in  the  cradle.  I  do  not  think 
your  father  sleeps  a  great  deal  to-night,  and  several 
of  the  gentlemen  in  the  other  cabins  remain  dressed; 
16* 


J86  HOMEWARD    BOUiVD. 

they  ask  me  how  you  spend  the  time  in  this  tempest, 
whenever  I  pass  their  state-room  doors." 

Eve's  colour  deepened,  and  Anne  Sid  ley  thought 
she  had  never  seen  her  child  more  beautiful,  as  the 
bright  luxuriant  golden  hair,  which  had  strayed  from 
the  confinement  of  the  cap,  fell  on  the  warm  cheek, 
and  rendered  eyes  that  were  always  full  of -feeling, 
softer  and  more  brilliant  even  than  common. 

"They  conceal  their  uneasiness  for  themselves 
under  an  affected  concern  for  me,  my  good  Nan 
ny,"  she ^said  hurriedly;  "and  your  own  affection 
makes  you  an  easy  dupe  to  the  artifice." 

"  It  may  be  so,  ma'am,  for  I  know  but  little  of  the 
ways  of  the  world.  It  is  fearful,  is  it  not,  Miss  Eve, 
to  think  that  we  are  in  a  ship,  so  far  from  any  land, 
whirling  along  over  the  bottom  as  fast  as  a  horse 
could  plunge  ?" 

"The  danger  is  not  exactly  of  that  nature, 'per 
haps,  Nanny." 

"There  is  a  bottom  to  the  ocean,  is  there  not?  1 
have  heard  some  maintain  there  is  no  bottom  to  the 
sea, — and  that  would  make  tfie  danger  so  much 
greater.  I  think,  if  I  felt  certain  that  the  bottom 
was  not  very  deep,  and  there  was  only  a  rock  to  be 
seen  now  and  then,  I  should  not  find  it  so  very 
dreadful." 

Eve  laughed  like  a  child,  and  the  contrast  between 
the  sweet  simplicity  of  her  looks,  her  manners,  and 
her  more  cultivated  intellect,  and  the  matronly  ap- 
pearjance  of  the  less  instructed  Anne,  made  one  of 
those  pictures  in  which  the  superiority  of  mind  over 
all  other  things  becomes  most  apparent. 

"Your  notions  of  safety,  my  dear  Nanny,"  she 
said,  "  are  not  precisely  those  of  a  seaman ;  for  1 
believe  there  is  nothing  of -which  they  stand  more  in 
dread  than  of  rocks  and  the  bottom." 

"I  fear  I'm  but  a  poor  sailor,  ma'am,  for  in  my 
judgment  we  could  have  no  greater  consolation  in 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  187 

such  a  tempest  than  to  see  them  all  around  us.  Do 
you  think,  Miss  Eve,  that  the  bottom  of  the  ocean,  if 
there  is  truly  a  bottom,  is  whitened  with  the  bones  of 
ship-wrecked  mariners,  as  people  say  ?" 

"  I  doubt  not,  my  excellent  Nanny,  that  the  great 
deep  might  give  up  many  awful  secrets ;  but  you 
ought  to  think  less  of  these  things,  and  more  of  that 
merciful  Providence  which  has  protected  us  through 
so  many  dangers  since  we  have  been  wanderers. 
You  are  in  much  less  danger  now  than  1  have  known 
you  to  be,  and  escape  unharmed." 

"1  !  Miss  Eve  ! — Do  you  suppose  that  1  fear  for 
myself?  What  matters  it  if  a  poor  old  woman  like 
me  die  a  few  years  sooner  or  later,  or  where  her 
frail  old  body  is  laid '(  I  have  never  been  of  so  much 
account  when  living  as  to  make  it  of  consequence 
where  the  little  which  will  remain  to  decay  when 
dead  moulders  into  dust.  Do  riot,  I  implore  you, 
Miss  Effingham,  suppose  me  so  selfish  as  to  feel  any 
uneasiness  to-night  on  my  own  account." 

"  Is  it  then,  as  usual,  all  for  me,  my  dear,  my  wor 
thy  old  nurse,  that  you  feel  this  anxiety  ?  Put  your 
heart  at  ease,  for  they  who  know  best  betray  no 
alarm ;  and  you  may  observe  that  the  captain  sleeps 
as  tranquilly  this  night  as  on  any  other." 

"  But  he  is  a  rude  man,  and  accustomed  to  danger. 
He  has  neither  wife  nor  children,  and  I'll  engage 
has  never  given  a  thought  to  the  horrors  of  having 
a  form  precious  as  this  floating  in  the  caverns  of  the 
ocean,  amidst  ravenous  fish  and  sea-monsters." 

Here  her  imagination  overcame  poor  Nanny  Sid- 
ley,  and  she  folded  her  arms  about  the  beautiful  per 
son  of  Eve,  and  sobbed  violently.  Her  young  mis 
tress,  accustomed  to  similar  exhibitions  of  affection, 
soothed  her  with  blandishments  and  assurances  that 
soon  restored  her  self-command,  when  the  dialogue 
was  resumed  with  a  greater  appearance  of  tran 
quillity  on  the  part  of  the  nurse.  They  conversed,  a 


188  HOMEWARD    BOUPfD. 

few  minutes  on  the  subject  of  their  reliance  on  God, 
Eve  returning  fourfold,  or  with  the  advantages  of  a 
cultivated  intellect,  many  of  those  simple  lessons  of 
faith  and  humility  that  she  had  received  from  her 
companion  when  a  child ;  the  latter  listening,  as  she 
always  did,  to  these  exhortations,  which  sounded  in 
her  ears,  like  the  echoes  of  all  her  own  better 
thoughts,  with  a  love  and  reverence  no  other  could 
awaken.  Eve  passed  her  small  white  hand  over  the 
wrinkled  cheek  of  Nanny  in  kind  fondling,  as  it  had 
been  passed  a  thousand  times  when  a  child,  an  act 
she  well  knew  her  nurse  delighted  in,  and  con 
tinued, — 

"  And  now,  my  good  old  Nanny,  you  will  set  your 
heart  at  ease,  I  know  ;  for  though  a  little  too  apt  to 
trouble  yourself  about  one  who  does  not  deserve  half 
your  care,  you  are  much  too  sensible  and  too  hum 
ble  to  feel  distrust  out  of  reason.  We  will  talk  of 
something  else  a  few.  minutes,  and  then  you  will  lie 
down  and  rest  your  weary  body." 

"  Weary !  I  should  never  feel  weary  in  watch 
ing,  when  I  thought  there  was  a  cause  for  it." 

Although  Nanny  made  no  allusion  to  herself,  Eve 
understood  in  whose  behalf  this  watchfulness  was 
meant.  She  drew  the  face  of  the  old  woman  to 
wards  her,  and  left  a  kiss  on  each  cheek  ere  she  con 
tinued  : — 

"  These  ships  have  other  things  to  talk  about,  be 
sides  their  dangers,"  she  said.  "Do  you  not  find  it 
odd,  at  least,  that  a  vessel  of  war  should  be  sent  to 
follow  us  about  the  ocean  in  this  extraordinay  way?" 

"  Quite  so,  ma'am,  and  I  did  intend  to  speak  to 
you  about  it,  some  time  when  I  saw  you  had  nothing 
better  to  think  of.  At  first  I  fancied,  but  I  believe  it 
was  a  silly  thought,  that  some  of  the  great  English 
lords  and  admirals  that  used  to  be  so  much  about  us 
at  Paris,  and  Rome,  and  Vienna,  had  sent  this  ship 
to  see  you  safe  to  America,  Miss  Eve  ;  for  I  never 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  189 


supposed  the'y  would  make  so  much  fuss  concerning 
a  poor  runaway  couple,  like  these  steerage-passen 
gers." 

Eve  did  not  refrain  from  laughing  again,  at  this 
conceit  of  Nanny's,  for  her  temperament  was  gay 
as  childhood,  though  well  restrained  by  cultivation 
and  manner,  and  once  more  she  patted  the  cheek  of 
her  nurse  kindly. 

"  Those  great  lords  and  admirals  are  not  great 
enough  for  that,  dear  Nanny,  even  had  they  the  in 
clination  to  do  so  silly  a  thing.  But  has  no  other 
reason  suggested  itself  to  you,  among  the  many  cu 
rious  circumstances  you  may  have  had  occasion  to 
observe  in  the  ship?" 

Nanny  looked  at  Eve,  then  turned  her  eyes  aside, 
glanced  furtively  at  the  young  lady  again,  and  at  last 
felt  compelled  to  answer. 

"  I  endeavour,  ma'am,  to  think  well  of  everybody, 
though  strange  thoughts  will  sometimes  arise  with 
out  our  wishing  it.  I  suppose  I  know  to  what  you 
allude;  but  1  don't  feel  quite  certain  it  becomes  me 
to  speak." 

"  With  me  at  least,  Nanny,  you  need  have  no  re 
serves,  and  I  confess  a  desire  to  learn  if  we  have 
thought  alike  about  some  of  our  fellow-passengers. 
Speak  freely,  then ;  for  you  can  have  no  more  ap 
prehension  in  communicating  all  your  thoughts  to 
me,  than  in  communicating  them  to  your  own  child." 

"Not  as  much,  ma'am,  not  half  as  much  ;  for  you 
are  both  child  and  mistress  to  me,  and  I  look  quite  as 
much  to  receiving  advice  as  to  giving  it.  It  is  odd, 
Miss  Eve,  that  gentlemen  should  not  pass  under 
their  proper  names,  and  I  have  had  unpleasant  feel 
ings  about  it,  though  I  did  not  think  it  became  me  to 
be  the  first  to  speak,  while  your  father  was  with  you, 
and  marnerzelle,"  for  so  Nanny  always  styled  the 
governess,  "  and  Mr.  John,  all  of  whom  love  you  al 
most  as  much  as  I  do,  and  all  of  whom  are  so  much 


HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

better  judges  of  what  is  right.  But  now  you  en 
courage  me  to  speak  my  mind,  Miss  Eve,  I  will  say 
I  should  like  that  no  one  came  near  you  who  does 
not  carry  his  heart  in  his  open  hand,  that  the  young 
est  child  might  know  his  character  and  understand 
his  motives." 

Eve  smiled  as  her  nurse  grew  warm,  but  she 
blushed  in  spite  of  an  effort  to  seem  indifferent. 

"  This  would  be  truly  a  vain  wish,  dear  Nanny,  in 
the  mixed  company  of  a  ship,"  she  said.  "  It  is  too 
much  to  expect  that  strangers  will  throw  aside  all 
their  reserves,  on  first  finding  themselves  in  close 
communion.  The  well-bred  and  prudent  will  only 
stand  more  on  their  guard  under  such  circum 
stances." 

"  Strangers,  ma'am  !" 

"I  perceive  that  you  recollect  the  face  of  one  of 
our  shipmates.  Why  do  you  shake  your  head  ?" 
The  tell-tale  blood  of  Eve  again  mantled  over  her 
lovely  countenance.  "  I  suppose  I  ought  to  have 
said  two  of  our  shipmates,  though  I  had  doubted 
whether  you  retained  any  recollection  of  one  of 
them." 

"No  gentleman  ever  speaks  to  you  twice,  Miss 
Eve,  that  I  do  not  remember  him." 

"  Thank  you,  dearest  Nanny,  for  this  and  a  thou 
sand  other  proofs  of  your  never-ceasing  interest  in 
my  welfare ;  but  1  had  not  believed  you  so  vigilant 
as  to  take  heed  of  every  face  that  happens  to  ap 
proach  me." 

"  Ah,  Miss  Eve  !  neither  of  these  gentlemen  would 
like  to  be  mentioned  by  you  in  this  careless  manner, 
I  'm  sure.  They  both  did  a  great  deal  more  than 
*  happen  to  approach  you  ;'  for  as  to — " 

"  Hist !  dear  Nanny ;  we  are  in  a  crowded  place, 
and  you  may  be  overheard.  You  will  use  no  names, 
therefore,  as  I  believe  we  understand  each  other 
without  going  into  all  these  particulars.  Now,  rny 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  191 

dear  nurse,  would  I  give  something  to  know  which 
of  these  young  men  has  made  the  most  favourable 
impression  on  your  upright  and  conscientious  mind?" 

"Nay,  Miss  Eve,  what  is  my  judgment  in  com 
parison  with  your  own,  and  that  of  Mr.  John  Effing- 
ham,  and — " 

"  — My  Cousin  Jack  !  In  the  name  of  wonder, 
Nanny, what  has  he  to  do  with  the  matter?" 

"  Nothing,  ma'am ;  only  I  can  see  he  has  his  fa 
vourites  as  well  as  another,  and  I  '11  venture  to  say 
Mr.  Dodge  is  not  the  greatest  he  has  in  this  ship." 

"  I  think  you  might  add  "Sir  George  Templemore, 
too,"  returned  Eve,  laughing. 

Anne  Sidley,  looked  hard  at  her  young  mistress  and 
smiled  before  she  answered  ;  and  then  she  conti 
nued  the  discourse  naturally,  as  if  there  had  been  no 
interruption. 

"  Quite  likely,  ma'am ;  and  Mr.  Monday,  and  all 
the  rest  of  that  set.  But  you  see  how  soon  he  dis 
covers  a  real  gentleman;  for  he  is  quite  .easy  and 
friendly  with  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt,  particularly 
the  last." 

Eve  was  silent,  for  she  did  not  like  the  open  in 
troduction  of  these  names,  though  she  scarce  knew 
why  herself. 

"  My  cousin  is  a  man  of  the  world,"  she  resumed, 
on  perceiving  that  Nanny  watched  her  countenance 
with  solicitude,  as  if  fearful  of  having  gone  too  far ; 
''  and  there  is  nothing  surprising  in  his  discovering 
men  of  his  own  class.  We  know  both  these  persons 
to  be  not  exactly  what  they  seem,  though  I  think  we 
know  no  harm  of  either,  unless  it  be  the  silly  change 
of  names.  It  would  have  been  better  had  they  come 
on  board,  bearing  their  proper  appellations  ;  to  us,  at 
least,  it  would  have  been  more  respectful,  though 
both  affirm  they  were  ignorant  that  my  father  had 
taken  passage  in  the  Montauk, — a  circumstance  that 


192  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

may  very  well  be  true,  as  you  know  we  got  the  cabin 
that  was  first  engaged  by  another  party." 

"  I  -should  be  sorry,  ma'am,  if  either  failed  in  re 
spect." 

"  It  is  not  quite  adulatory  to  make  a  young  woman 
the  involuntary  keeper  of  the  secrets  of  two  unre 
flecting  young  men ;  that  is  all,  my  good  Nanny. 
We  cannot  well  betray  them,  and  we  are  conse 
quently  their  confidants  par  force.  The  most  amus 
ing  part  of  the  thing  is,  that  they  are  masters  of 
each  other's  secrets,  in  part  at  least,  and  feel  a  de 
lightful  awkwardness  in  a  hundred  instances.  For 
my  own  part  I  pity  neither,  but  think  each  is  fairly 
enough  punished.  They  will  be  fortunate  if  their  ser 
vants  do  not  betray  them  before  wre  reach  New 
York." 

"  No  fear  of  that,  ma'am,  for  they  are  discreet, 
cautious  men,  and  if  disposed  to  blab,  Mr.  Dodge 
has  given  both  good  opportunities  already,  as  I  be 
lieve  he  has  put  to  them  as  many  questions  as  there 
are  speeches  in  the  catechism." 

"  Mr.  Dodge  is  a  vulgar  man." 

"  So  we  all  say,  ma'am,  in  the  servants'  cabin,  and 
everybody  is  so  set  against  him  there,  that  there  is 
little  chance  of  his  learning  much.  I  hope,  Miss 
Eve,  mamerzelle  does  not  distrust  either  of  the  gen 
tlemen  ?" 

"  Surely  you  cannot  suspect  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville  of  indiscretion,  Nanny ;  a  better  spirit,  or  a  bet 
ter  tone  than  hers,  does  not  exist." 

"No,  ma'am,  'tis  not  that:  but  I  should  like  to 
have  one  more  secret  with  you,  all  to  myself.  I  ho 
nour  and  respect  mamerzelle,  who  has  done  a  thou 
sand  times  more  for  you  than  a  poor  ignorant  wo 
man  like  me  could  have  done,  with  all  my  zeal ;  but 
I  do  believe,  Miss  Eve,  I  love  your  shoe  tie  better 
than  she  loves  your  pure  and  beautiful  spirit." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  193 

"^Mademoiselle  Vicfville  is  an  excellent  woman, 
and  I  believe  is  sincerely  attached  to  me." 

"  She  would  be  a  wretch  else.  I  do  not  deny  her 
attachment,  but  I  only  say  it  is  nothing,  it  ought  to 
be  nothing,  it  can  be  nothing,  it  shall  be  nothing, 
compared  to  that  of  the  one  who  first  held  you  in  her 
arms,  and  who  has  always  held  you  in  her  heart.  Ma- 
merzelle  can  sleep  such  a  night  as  this,  which  I  'm 
sure  she  could  not  do  were  she  as  much  concerned 
for  you  as  I  am." 

Eve  knew  that  jealousy  of  Mademoiselle  V'iefville 
was  Nanny's  greatest  weakness,  and  drawing  the  old 
woman  to  her,  she  entwined  her  arms  around  her 
neck  and  complained  of  drowsiness.  Accustomed 
to  watching,  and  really  unable  to  sleep,  the  nurse 
now  passed  a  perfectly  happy  hour  in  holding  her 
child,  who  literally  dropped  asleep  on  her  bosom ; 
after  which  Nanny  slid  into  the  berth  beneath,  in  her 
clothes,  and  finally  lost  the  sense  of  her  apprehen 
sions  in  perturbed  slumbers. 

A  cry  on  deck  awoke  all  in  the  cabins  early  on 
the  succeeding  morning.  It  was  scarcely  light,  but 
a  common  excitement  seized  on  every  passenger, 
and  ten  minutes  had  not  elapsed  when  Eve  and  her 
governess  appeared  in  the  hurricane-house,  the  last 
of  those  who  came  from  below.  Few  questions 
had  been  asked,  but  all  hurried  on  deck  with  their 
apprehensions  awakened  by  the  gale,  increased  to 
the  sense  of  some  positive  and  impending  danger. 

Nothing,  however,  was  immediately  apparent  to 
justify  all  this  sudden  clamour.  The  gale  continued, 
if  anything,  with  increased  power;  the  ocean  was 
rolling  over  its  cataracts  of  combing  seas,  with 
which  the  ship  was  still  racing,  driven  under  the 
strain  of  a  reefed  forecourse,  the  only  canvass  that 
was  set.  Even  with  this  little  sail  the  hull  was  glan 
cing  through  the  raging  seas,  or  rather  in  their  com 
pany,  at  a  rate  a  little  short  often  miles  in  the  hour. 
VOL,  i.  17 


194  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Captain'  Truck  was  in  the  mizen-rigging,  bare 
headed,  every  lock  of  hair  he  had  blowing  out  like  a 
pendant.  Occasionally  he  signed  to  the  man  at  the 
wheel  which  way  to  put  the  helm  ;  for  instead  of 
sleeping,  as  many  had  supposed,  he  had  been  con 
ning  the  ship  for  hours  in  the  same  situation.  As 
Eve  appeared,  he  was  directing  the  attention  of  sev 
eral  of  the  gentlemen  to  some  object  astern,  but  a 
very  few  moments  put  all  on  deck  in  possession  of 
ihe  facts. 

About  a  cable's  length,  on  one  of  the  quarters 
of  the  Montauk,  was  a  ship  careering  before  the 
gale  like  themselves,  though  carrying  more  can 
vass,  and  consequently  driving  faster  through  the 
water.  The  sudden  appearance  of  this  vessel  in 
the  sombre  light  of  the  morning,  when  objects 
were  seen  distinctly  but  without  the  glare  of  day ; 
the  dark  hull,  relieved  by  a  single  narrow  line 
of  white  paint,  dotted  with  ports ;  the  glossy  ham 
mock-cloths,  and  all  those  other  coverings  of  dark 
glistening  canvass  which  give  to  a  cruiser  an  air  of 
finish  and  comfort,  like  that  of  a  travelling  carriage; 
the  symmetry  of  the  spars,  and  the  gracefulness  of 
nil  the  lines,  whether  of  the  hull  or  hamper,  told  all 
who  knew  anything  of  such  subjects,  that  the  stran 
ger  was  a  vessel  of  war.  To  this  information  Cap 
tain  Truck  added  that  it  was  their  old  pursuer  the 
Foam. 

"She  is  corvette-built,"  said  the  master  of  the 
Montauk,  "  and  is  obliged  to  carry  more  canvass 
than  we,  in  order  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  seas; 
for,  if  one  of  these  big  fellows  should  overtake  her, 
and  throw  its  crest  into  her  waist,  she  would  become 
like  a  man  who  has  taken  too  much  Saturday-night, 
and  with  whom  a  second  dose  might  settle  the  pur 
ser's  books  for  ever." 

Such  in  fact  was  the  history  of  the  sudden  ap 
pearance  of  this  ship.  She  had  Lain-to  as  long  as 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  105 

possible,  and  on  being  driven  to  scud,  carried  a 
close-reefed  maintop-sail,  a  show  of  canvass  that 
urged  her  through  the  water  about  two  knots  to  the 
hour  faster  than  the  rate  of  the  packet.  Neces 
sarily  following  the  same  course,  she  overtook  the 
latter  just  as  the  day  began  to  dawn.  The  cry  had 
arisen  on  her  sudden  discovery,  and  the  moment  had 
now  arrived  when  she  was  about  to  come  up,  quite 
abreast  of  her  late  chase.  The  passage  of  the 
Foam,  under  such  circumstances,  was  a  grand  but 
thrilling  thing.  Her  captain,  too,  was  seen  in  the 
mizen-rigging  of  his  ship,  rocked  by  the  gigantic  bil 
lows  over  which  the  fabric  was  careering.  He  held 
a  speaking-trumpet  in  his  hand,  as  if  still  bent  on  his 
duty,  in  the  midst  of  that  awful  warring  of  the  ele 
ments.  Captain  Truck  called  for  a  trumpet  in  his 
turn,  and  fearful  of  consequences  he  waved  it  to  the 
other  to  keep  more  aloof.  The  injunction  was  either 
misunderstood,  the  man-of-war's  man  was  too  much 
bent  on  his  object,  or  the  ocean  was  too  uncontrollable 
for  such  a  purpose,  the  corvette  driving  up  on  a  sea 
quite  abeam  of  the  packet,  and  in  fearful  proximity. 
The  Englishman  applied  the  trumpet,  and  words  were 
heard  amid  the  roaring  of  the  winds.  At  that  time 
the  white  field  of  old  Albion,  with  the  St.  George's 
cross,  rose  over  the  bulwarks,  and  by  the  time  it  had 
reached  the  gall-end,  the  bunting  was  whipping  in 
ribbons. 

"  Show  'em  the  gridiron  !"  growled  Captain  Truck 
through  his  trumpet,  with  its  mouth  turned  in  board. 

As  everything  was  ready  this  order  was  instantly 
obeyed,  and  the  stripes  of  America  were  soon  seen 
fluttering  nearly  in  separate  pieces.  The  two  ships 
now  ran  a  short  distance  in  parallel  lines,  rolling 
from  each  other  so  heavily  that  the  bright  copper  of 
the  corvette  was  seen  nearly  to  her  keel.  The  Eng 
lishman,  who  seemed  a  portion  of  his  ship,  again  tried 
his  trumpet ;  the  detached  words  of  "  lie-by," — "  or- 


196  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

ders," — "communicate,"  were  caught  by  one  or  two, 
but  the  howling  of  the  gale  rendered  all  connexion  in 
the  meaning  impossible.  The  Englishman  ceased 
his  efforts  to  make  himself  heard,  for  the  two  ships 
were  now  rolling-to,  and  it  appeared  as  if  their  spars 
would  interlock.  There  was  an  instant  when  Mr. 
Leach  had  his  hand  on  the  main-brace  to  let  it 
go ;  but  the  Foam  started  away  on  a  sea,  like  a  horse 
that  feels  the  spur,  and  disobeying  her  helm,  shot  for 
ward,  as  if  about  to  cross  the  Montauk's  forefoot. 

A  breathless  instant  followed,  for  all  on  board  the 
two  ships  thought  they  must  now  inevitably  come 
foul  of  each  other,  and  this  the  more  so,  because  the 
Mohtauk  took  the  impulse  of  the  sea  just  as  it  was 
lost  to  the  Foam,  and  seemed  on  the  point  of  plung 
ing  directly  into  the  stern  of  the  latter.  Even  the 
seamen  clenched  the  ropes  around  them  convul 
sively,  and  the  boldest  held  their  breaths  for  a  time. 
The  "  p-o-r-t,  hard  a  port,  and  be  d — d  to  you  !"  of 
Captain  Truck  ;  and  the  "  S-t-a-r-b-o-a-r-d,  starboard 
hard!"  of  the  Englishman,  were  both  distinctly  audi 
ble  to  all  in  the  two  ships ;  for  this  was  a  moment  in 
\vhich  seamen  can  speak  louder  than  the  tempest. 
The  affrighted  vessels  seemed  to  recede  together, 
and  then  they  shot  asunder  in  diverging  lines,  the 
Foam  leading.  All  further  attempts  at  a  communi 
cation  were  instantly  useless ;  the  corvette  being  half 
a  mile  ajiead  in  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  rolling  her 
yard-arms  nearly  to  the  water. 

Captain  Truck  said  little  to  his  passengers  concern 
ing  this  adventure ;  but  when  he  had  lighted  a  cigar, 
and  was  discussing  the  matter  with  his  chief-mate, 
he  told  the  latter  there  was  "just  one  minute  when 
lie  would  not  have  given  a  ship's  biscuit  for  both 
vessels,  nor  much  more  for  their  cargoes.  A  man 
must  have  a  small  regard  for  human  souls,  when  he 
puts  them,  and  their  bodies  too,  in  so  much  jeopardy 
for  a  little  tobacco." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  197 

Throughout  the  day  it  blew  furiously,  for  the  ship 
was  running  into  the  gale,  u  phenomenon  that  we 
shall  explain,  as  most  ol'  our  readers  may  not  com 
prehend  it.  All  gales  of  wind  commence  to  leeward ; 
;or,?in  other  words,  the  wind  is  first  felt  at  some  par 
ticular  point,  and  later,  as  we  recede  from  that  point, 
proceeding  in  the  direction  from  which  the  wind 
blows.  It  is  always  severest  near  the  point  where  if: 
commences,  appearing  to  diminish  in  violence  as  it 
recedes.  This,  therefore,  is  an  additional  motive  for 
mariners  to  lie-to,  instead  of  scudding,  since  the  lat 
ter  not  only  carries  them  far  from  their  true  course, 
but  it  carries  them  also  nearer  to  the  scene  of  the 
fury  of  the  elements. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Good  boatswain,  have  care. 

Tempest 

AT  sunsat,  the  speck  presented  by  the  reefed  top 
sail  of  the  corvette  had  sunk  beneath  the  horizon,  in 
the  southern  board,  and  that  ship  was  seen  no  longer. 
Several  islands  had  been  passed,  looking  tranquil  and 
smiling  amid  the  fury  of  the  tempest ;  but  it  was  im 
possible  to  haul  up  for  any  one  among  them.  The 
most  that  could  be  done  was  to  keep  the  ship  dead 
before  it,  to  prevent  her  broaching-to,  and  to  have  a 
care  that  she  kept  clear  of  those  rocks  and  of  that 
bottom,  for  which  Nanny  Sidley  had  so  much  pined. 
Familiarity  with  the  scene  began  to  lessen  the  appre 
hensions  of  the  passengers,  and  as  scudding  is  an  easy 
process  for  those  who  are  liable  to  sea-sickness,  ere  ano 
ther  night  shut  in,  the  principal  concern  was  connected 
with  the  course  the  ship  was  compelled  to  steer.  The 
wind  had  so  far  hauled  to  the  westward  as  to  render 

I  "* 


199  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

it  certain  that  the  coast  of  Africa  would  lie  in  their 
way,  if  obliged  to  scud  many  hours  longer ;  for  Cap 
tain  Truck's  observations  actually  placed  him  to  the 
southward  and  eastward  of  the  Canary  Islands.  This 
was  a  long  distance  out  of  his  course,  but  the  rate  of 
sailing  rendered  the  fact  sufficiently  clear. 

This,  too,  was  the  precise  time  when  the  Montauk 
felt  the  weight  of  the  tempest,  or  rather,  when  she 
experienced  the  heaviest  portion  of  that  which  it 
was  her  fate  to  feel.  Lucky  was  it  for  the  good  ship 
that  she  had  not  been  in  this  latitude  a  few  hours 
earlier,  when  it  had  blown  something  very  like  a  hur 
ricane.  The  responsibility  and  danger  of  his  situa 
tion  now  began  seriously  to  disturb  Captain  Truck, 
although  he  kept  his  apprehensions  to  himself,  like  a 
prudent  officer.  All  his  calculations  were  gone  over 
again  with  the  utmost  care,  the  rate  of  sailing  was 
cautiously  estimated,  and  the  result  showed,  that  ten 
or  fifteen  hours  more  would  inevitably  produce  ship 
wreck  of  another  sort,  unless  the  wind  moderated. 

Fortunately,  the  gale  began  to  break  about  mid 
night.  The  wind  still  blew  tremendously,  but  it  was 
less  steadily,  and  there  were  intervals  of  half-an-hour 
at  a  time  when  the  ship  might  have  carried  much 
more  canvass,  even  on  a  bow-line :  of  course  her 
speed  abated  in  proportion,  and,  after  the  day  had 
dawned,  a  long  and  anxious  survey  from  aloft  show 
ed  no  land  to  the  eastward.  When  perfectly  assured 
of  this  important  fact,  Captain  Truck  rubbed  his 
hands  with  delight,  ordered  a  coal  for  his  cigar,  and 
began  to  abuse  Saunders  about  the  quality  of  the  cof 
fee  during  the  blow. 

"Let  there  be  something  creditable,  this  morning, 
sir,"  added  the  captain,  after  a  sharp  rebuke;  "and 
remember  we  are  down  here  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  the  country  of  your  forcluthers,  where  a  man 
ought,  in  reason,  to  be.  on  his  good  behaviour.  If  J 
hear  any  more  of  your  washy  compounds,  I  '11  put 

•H 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  199 

you  ashore,  and  let  you  run  naked  a  summer  or  two 
with  the  monkeys  and  ourang-outangs." 

"I  endeavour,  on  all  proper  occasions,  to  render 
myself  agreeable  to  you,  Captain  Truck,  and  to  all 
those  with  whom  I  have  the  happiness  to  sail,"  re 
turned  the  steward  ;  "  but  the  coffee,  sir,  cannot  be 
very  good,  sir,  in  such  weather,  sir.  I  do  diwine 
that  the  wind  must  blow  away  its  flavour,  for  I  am 
ready  to  confess  it  has  not  been  as  odorous  as  it 
usually  is,  when  I  have  had  the  honour  to  prepare  it. 
As  for  Africa,  sir,  I  flatter  myself,  Captain  Truck, 
that  you  esteem  me  too  highly  to  believe  I  am  suited 
to  consort  or  resort  with  the  ill-formed  and  inedicated 
men  who  inhabit  that  wild  country.  I  misremember 
whether  my  ancestors  came  from  this  part  of  the 
world  or  not ;  but  if  they  did,  sir,  my  habits  and  pro 
fession  entirely  unqualify  me  for  their  company,  I 
hope.  I  know  I  am  only  a  poor  steward,  sir,  but 
you'll  please  to  recollect  that  your  great  Mr.  Vattel 
was  nothing  but  a  cook." 

"  D — n  the  fellow,  Leach;  I  believe  it  is  this  con 
ceit  that  has  spoiled  the  coffee  the  last  day  or  two ! 
Do  you  suppose  it  can  be  true  that  a  great  writer 
like  this  man  could  really  be  no  better  than  a  cook, 
or  was  that  Englishman  roasting  me,  byway  of  show 
ing  how  cooking  is  done  ashore?  If  it  were  not  for 
the  testimony  of  the  ladies,  I  might  believe  it ;  but 
they  would  not  share  in  such  an  indecent  trick. 
What  are  you  lying-by  for,  sir;  go  to  your  pantry, 
and  remember  that  the  gale  is  broken,  and  we  shall 
all  sit  down  to  table  this  morning,  as  keen-set  as  a 
party  of  your  brethren  ashore  here,  who  had  a  broil 
ed  baby  for  breakfast." 

'Saundcrs,  who  ex-officio  might  be  said  to  be  trained 
in  similar  lectures,  went  pouting  to  his  work,  taking 
care  to  expend  a  proper  part  of  his  spleen  on  Mr. 
Toast,  who,  quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  suffered  in 
proportion  as  his  superior  was  made  to  feel,  in  his 


200  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

own  person,  the  weight  of  Captain  Truck's  autho 
rity.  It  is  perhaps  fortunate  that  nature  points  out 
this  easy  and  self-evident  mode  of  relief,  else  would 
ihe  rude  habits  of  a  ship  sometimes  render  the  rela 
tions  between  him  who  orders  and  him  whose  duty  it 
is  to  obey,  too  nearly  approaching  to  the  intolerable. 

The  captain's  squalls,  however,  were  of  short  du 
ration,  and  on  the  present  occasion  he  was  soon  in 
even  a  better  humour  than  common,  as  every  minute 
<jjave  the  cheering  assurance  that  the  tempest  was 
last  drawing  to  a  close.  He  had  finished  his  third 
cigar,  and  was  actually  issuing  his  orders  to  turn  the 
reef  out  of  the  foresail,  and  to  set  the  main-top-sail 
close-reefed,  when  most  of  the  passengers  appeared 
<>n  deck,  for  the  first  time  that  morning. 

"  Here  we  are,  gentlemen  !"  cried  Captain  Truck, 
in  the  way  of  salutation,  "  nearer  to.  Guinea,  than  I 
could  wish,  with  every  prospect,  now,  of  soon  work 
ing  our  way  across  the  Atlantic,  and  possibly  of  ma 
king  a  thirty  or  thirty-five  days'  passage  of  it  yet. 
We  have  this  sea  to  quiet;  and  then  I  hope  to  show 
you  what  the  Montauk  has  in  her,  besides  her  pas 
sengers  and  cargo.  1  think  we  have  now  got  rid  of 
the  Foam,  as  well  as  of  the  gale.  I  did  believe,  at 
one  time,  her  people  might  be  walking  and  wading 
on  the  coast  of  Cornwall;  but  I  now  believe  they  are 
more  likely  to  try  the  sands  of  the  great  Desert  of 
Sahara." 

"It  is  to  be  hoped  they  have  escaped  ihe  latter 
calamity,  as  fortunately  as  they  escaped  the  first!" 
observed  Mr.  Effingharn. 

"It  maybe  so;  but  the  wind  has  got  round  to 
nor'-wcst,  and  has  not  been  sighing  these  last  twelve 
hours.  Cape  Blanco  is  not  a  hundred  leagues  from 
us,  and,  at  the  rate  he  was  travelling,  that  gentleman 
with  the  speaking-trumpet  may  now  be  philosophi- 
xing-ovcr  the  fragments  of  his  ship,  unless  he  had  the 
good  sense  to  haul  off  more  to  the  westward  than  he 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  201 

was  steering  when  last  seen.  His  ship  should  have 
been  christened  the  '  Scud,'  instead  of  the  '  Foam.'  " 

Every  one  expressed  the  hope  that  the  ship,  to 
which  their  own  situation  was  fairly  enough  to  be 
ascribed,  might  escape  this  calamity ;  and  all  faces 
regained  their  cheerfulness  as  they  saw  the  canvass 
fall,  in  sign  that  their  own  danger  was  past.  So  ra 
pidly,  indeed,  did  the  gale  now  abate,  that  the  topsails 
were  hardly  hoisted  before  the  order  was  given  to 
shake  out  another  reef,  and  within  an  hour  all  the 
heavier  canvass  that  was  proper  to  carry  before  the 
wind  was  set,  solely  with  a  view  to  keep  the  ship 
steady.  The  sea  was  still  fearful,  and  Captain  Truck 
found  himself  obliged  to  keep  off  from  his  course,  in 
order  to  avoid  the  danger  of  having  his  decks  swept. 

The  racing  with  the  crest  of  the  waves,  however, 
was  quite  done,  for  the  seas  soon  cease  to  comb  and 
break,  after  the  force  of  the  wind  is  expended. 

At  no  lime  is  the  motion  of  the  vessel  more  un 
pleasant,  or,  indeed,  more  dangerous,  than  in  the  in 
terval  that  occurs  between  the  ceasing  of  a  violent 
gale,  and  the  springing  up  of  a  new  wind.  The  ship 
is  unmanageable,  and  falling  into  the  troughs  of  the 
sea,  the  waves  break  in  upon  her  decks,  often  doing 
serious  injury,  while  the  spars  and  rigging  are  put  to 
the  severest  trial  by  the  sudden  and  violent  surges 
which  they  have  to  withstand.  Of  ail  this  Captain 
Truck  was  fully  aware,  and  when  he  was  summoned 
to  breakfast  he  gave  many  cautions  to  Mr.  Leach 
before  quitting  the  deck. 

"  I  do  not  like  the  new  shrouds  we  got  up  in  Lon 
don,"  he  said,  "  for  the  rope  has  stretched  in  this 
gale  in  a  way  to  throw  too  much  strain  on  the  old 
rigging ;  so  see  all  ready  for  taking  a  fresh  drag  on 
them,  as  soon  as  the  people  have  breakfasted.  Mind 
and  keep  her  out  of  the  trough,  sir,  and  watch  every 
roller  that  you  find  comes  tumbling  upon  us." 


202  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

After  repeating  these  injunctions  in  different  ways, 
looking  to  windward  some  time,  and  aloft  five  or  six 
minutes,  Captain  Truck  finally  went  below,  to  pass 
judgment  on  Mr,  Saunders'  coffee.  Once  in  his 
throne,  at  the  head  of  the  long  table,  the  worthy 
master,  after  a  proper  attention  to  his  passengers,  set 
about  the  duty  of  restoration,  as  the  steward  affect 
edly  called  eating,  with  a  zeal  that  never  failed  him 
on  such  occasions.  He  had  just  swallowed  a  cup  of 
the  coffee,  about  which  he  had  lectured  Saunders, 
when  a  heavy  flap  of  the  sails  announced  the  sudden 
failure  of  the  wind. 

"  That  is  bad  news,"  said  Captain  Truck,  listening 
to  the  fluttering  blows  of  the  canvass  against  the 
masts,  "I  never  like  to  hear  a  ship  shaking  its  wings 
while  there  is  a  heavy  sea  on ;  but  this  is  better  than 
the  Desert  of  Sahara,  arid  so,  my  dear  young  lady, 
let  me  recommend  to  you  a  cup  of  this  coffee,  which 
is  flavoured  this  morning  by  a  dread  of  ourang-ou- 
tangs,  as  Mr.  Saunders  will  have  the  honour  to  in 
form  you — " 

A  jerk  of  the  whole  ship  was  followed  by  a  report 
like  that  made  by  a  musket.  Captain  Truck  rose, 
and  stood  leaning  on  one  hand  in  a  bent  attitude,  ex 
pectation  and  distrust  intensely  portrayed  in  every 
feature.  Another  helpless  roll  of  the  ship  succeeded, 
and  three  or  four  similar  reports  were  immediately 
heard,  as  if  large  ropes  had  parted  in  quick  succes 
sion.  A  rending  of  wood  followed,  and  then  came  M 
chaotic  crash,  in  which  the  impending  heavens  ap 
peared  to  fall  on  the  devoted  ship.  Most  of  the  pas 
sengers  shut  their  eyes,  and  when  they  were  opened 
again,  or  a  moment  afterwards,  Mr.  Truck  had  van 
ished. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  describe  the  confusion 
that  followed.  Eve  was  frightened,  but  she  behaved 
well,  though  Mademoiselle  Viefville  trembled  so 
much  as  to  require  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Effingham. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  203 

"  We  have  lost  our  masts,"  John  Effingham  coolly 
remarked ;  "  an  accident  that  will  not  be  likely  to 
be  very  dangerous,  though  by  prolonging  the  pas 
sage  a  month  or  two,  it  may  have  the  merit  of  mak 
ing  this  good  company  more  intimately  acquainted 
with  each  other,  a  pleasure  for  which  we  cannot  ex 
press  too  much  gratitude." 

Eve  implored  his  forbearance  by  a  glance,  for  she 
saw  his  eye.  was  unconsciously  directed  towards  Mr. 
Monday  and  Mr.  Dodge,  for  both  of  whom  she  knew 
her  kinsman  entertained  an  incurable  dislike.  His 
words,  however,  explained  the  catastrophe,  and  most 
of  the  men  hastened  on  deck  to  assure  themselves  of 
the  fact. 

John  EfFingharn  was  right.  The  new  rigging 
which  had  stretched  so  much  during  the  gale,  had 
permitted  too  much  of  the  strain,  in  the  tremendous 
roll  of  the  ship,  to  fall  upon  the  other  ropes.  The 
shroud  most  exposed  had  parted  first ;  three  or  four 
more  had  followed  in  succession,  and  before  there 
was  time  to  secure  anything,  the  remainder  had  gone 
together,  and  the  mainmast  had  broken  at  a  place 
where  a  defect  was  now  seen  in  its  heart.  Falling 
over  the  side,  the  latter  had  brought  down  with  it  the 
mizen-mast  and  all  its  hamper,  and  as  much  of  the 
fore-mast  as  stood  above  the  top.  In  short,  of  all  the 
complicated  tracery  of  ropes,  the  proud  display  of 
spars,  and  the  broad  folds  of  canvass  that  had  so 
lately  overshadowed  the  deck  of  the  Montauk,  the 
mutilated  fore-mast,  the  fore-yard  and  sail,  and  the 
fallen  head-gear  alone  remained.  All  the  rest  either 
cumbered  the  deck,  or  was  beating  against  the  side 
of  the  ship,  in  the  water. 

The  hard,  red,  weather-beaten  face  of  Captain 
Truck  was  expressive  of  mortification  and  concern, 
for  a  single  instant,  when  his  eye  glanced  over  the 
ruin  we  have  just  described.  His  mind  then  seemed 
made  up  to  the  calamity,  and  he  ordered  Toast  to 


204  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

bring  him  a  coal  of  fire,  with  which  he  quietly  light 
ed  a  cigar. 

"  Here  is  a  category,  and  be  d — d  to  it,  Mr. 
Leach,"  he  said,  after  taking  a  single  whiff.  "  You 
are  doing  quite  right,  sir ;  cut  away  the  wreck  and 
force  the  ship  free  of  it,  or  we  shall  have  some  of 
those  sticks  poking  themselves  through  the  planks.  I 
always  thought  the  chandler  in  London,  into  whose 

hands  the  agent  has  fallen,  was  a .rogue,  and 

now  I  know  it  well  enough  to  swear  to  it.  Cut  away, 
carpenter,  and  get  us  rid  of  all  this  thumping  as  soon 
as  possible.  A  very  capital  vessel,  Mr.  Monday,  or 
she  would  have  rolled  the  pumps  out  of  her,  and  cap 
sized  the  galley." 

No  attempt  being  made  to  save  anything,  the 
wreck  was  floating  astern  in  five  minutes,  and  the 
ship  was  fortunately  extricated  from  this  new  hazard. 
Mr.  Truck,  in  spite  of  his  acquired  coolness,  looked 
piteously  at  all  that  gallant  hamper,  in  which  he  had 
so  lately  rejoiced,  as  yard-arm,  cross-trees,  tressel- 
trees,  and  tops  rose  on  the  summits  of  swells  or  set 
tled  in  the  troughs,  like  whales  playing  their  gam 
bols.  But  habit  is  a  seaman's  philosophy,  and  in  no 
one  feature  is  his  character  more  respectable  than 
in  that  manliness  which  disinclines  him  to  mourn 
over  a  misfortune  that  is  inevitable. 

The  Montauk  now  resembled  a  tree  stripped  of  its 
branches,  or  a  courser  crippled  in  his  sinews ;  her 
glory  had,  in  a  great  degree,  departed.  The  fore 
mast  alone  remained,  and  of  this  even  the  head  was 
gone,  a  circumstance  of  which  Captain  Truck  com 
plained  more  than  of  any  other,  as,  to  use  his  own  ex 
pressions,  "it  destroyed  the  symmetry  of  the  spar, 
which  had  proved  itself  to  be  a  good  stick."  What, 
however,  was  of  more  real  importance,  it  rendered  it 
difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  get  up  a  spare  top-mast 
forward.  As  both  the  main  and  mizen-mast  had  gone 
quite  near  the  deck,  this  was  almost  the  only  tolerably 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  205 

easy  expedient  that  remained ;  and,  within  an  hour 
of  the  accident,  Mr.  Truck  announced  his  intentions 
to  stand  as  far  south  as  he  could  to  strike  the  trades, 
and  then  to  make  a  fair  wind  of  it  across  the  Atlan 
tic,  unless,  indeed,  he  might  be  able  to  fetch  into  the 
Cape  de  Verde  Islands,  where  it  would  be  possible, 
perhaps,  to  get  something  like  a  new  outfit. 

"  All  I  now  ask,  my  dear  young  lady,"  he  said  to 
Eve,  who  ventured  on  deck  to  look  at  the  desolation, 
as  soon  as  the  wreck  was  cut  adrift,  "all  I  now  ask, 
my  dear  young  lady,  is  an  end  to  westerly  winds  for 
two  or  three  weeks,  and  I  will  promise  to  place  you 
all  in  America  yet,  in  time  to  eat  your  Christmas  din 
ner.  I  do  not  think  Sir  George  will  shoot  many 
white  bears  among  the  Rocky  Mountains  this  year, 
but  then  there  will  be  so  many  more  left  for  another 
season.  The  ship  is  in  a  category,  and  he  will  be  an 
impudent  scoundrel  who  denies  it ;  but  worse  cate 
gories  than  this  have  been  reasoned  out  of  counte 
nance.  All  head-sail  is  not  a  convenient  show  of  cloth 
to  claw  off  a  lee-shore  with  ;  but  I  still  hope  to  escape 
the  misfortune  of  laying  eyes  on  the  coast  of  Africa." 

"Are  we  far  from  it?"  asked  Eve,  who  sufficient 
ly  understood  the  danger  of  being  on  an  uninhabit 
able  shore  in  their  present  situation ;  one  in  which  it 
was  vain  to  seek  for  a  port.  "  I  would  rather  be  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  any  other  land,  I  think,  than 
that  of  Africa." 

"  Especially  Africa  between  the  Canaries  and 
Cape  Blanco,"  returned  Captain  Truck,  with  an  ex 
pressive  shrug.  "  More  hospitable  regions  exist, 
certainly;  for,  if  accounts  are  to  be  credited,  the 
honest  people  along-shore  never  get  a  Christian  that 
they  do  not  mount  him  on  a  camel,  and  trot  him 
through  the  sands  a  thousand  miles  or  so,  under  a 
hot  sun,  with  a  sort  of  haggis  for  food,  that  would  go 
nigh  to  take  away  even  a  Scotchman's  appetite." 

"  And  you  do  not  tell  us  how  far  we  are  from  this 

VOL.  i.  18 


20G  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

frightful  land,  Mons.  le  Capilaine  ?"  inquired  Made 
moiselle  Viefville. 

"  In  ten  minutes  you  shall  know,  ladies,  for  I  am 
about  to  observe  for  the  longitude.  It  is  a  little  late, 
but  it  may  yet  be  done." 

"And  we  may  rely  on  the  fidelity  of  your  infor 
mation  ?" 

"  On  the  honour  of  a  sailor  and  a  man." 

"  The  ladies  were  silent,  while  Mr.  Truck  pro 
ceeded  to  get  the  time  and  the  sun.  As  soon  as  he 
had  run  through  his  calculations,  he  came  to  them 
with  a  face  in  which  the  eye  was  roving,  though  it 
was  still  good-humoured  and  smiling. 

"  And  the  result  ?"  said  Eve. 

"  Is  not  quite  as  flattering  as  I  could  wish.  We 
are  materially  within  a  degree  of  the  coast;  but,  as 
the  wind  is  gone,  or  nearly  so,  we  may  hope  to  find 
a  shift  that  will  shove  us  farther  from  the  land.  And 
now  I  have  dealt  frankly  with  you,  let  me  beg  you 
will  keep  the  secret,  for  my  people  will  be  dreaming 
of  Turks,  instead  of  working,  if  they  knew  the  fact." 

It  required  no  great  observation  to  discover  that 
Captain  Truck  was  far  from  satisfied  with  the  posi 
tion  of  his  ship.  Without  any  after-sail,  and  almost 
without  the  means  of  making  any,  it  was  idle  to  think 
of  hauling  off'  from  the  land,  more  especially  against 
the  heavy  sea  that  was  still  rolling  in  from  the  north 
west;  and  his  present  object  was  to  make  the  Cape 
de  Verdes,  before  reaching  which  he  would  be  cer 
tain  to  meet  the  trades,  and  where,  of  course,  there 
would  be  some  chance  of  repairing  damages.  His 
apprehensions  would  have  been  much  less  were  the 
snip  a  degree  or  two  further  south,  or  even  a  degree 
further  west,  as  the  prevailing  winds  in  this  part  of 
the  ocean  are  from  the  northward  arid  eastward; 
but  it  was  no  easy  matter  to  force  a  ship  that  distance 
under  a  fore-sail,  the  only  regular  sail  that  now  re 
mained  in  its  place.  It  is  true,  he  had  some  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  207 

usual  expedients  of  seamen  at  his  command,  and  the 
people  were  immediately  set  about  them ;  but,  in 
consequence  of  the  principal  spars  having  gone  so 
near  the  decks,  it  became  exceedingly  difficult  to  rig 
jury-masts. 

Something  must  be  attempted,  however,  and  the 
spare  spars  were  got  out,  and  all  the  necessary  pre 
parations  were  commenced,  in  order  that  they  might 
be  put  into  their  places  and  rigged,  as  well  as  cir 
cumstances  would  allow.  As  soon  as  the  sea  went 
down,  and  the  steadiness  of  the  ship  would  permit, 
Mr.  Leach  succeeded  in  getting  up  an  awkward 
lower  studding-sail,  and  a  sort  of  a  stay-sail  forward, 
and  with  these  additions  to  their  canvass,  the  ship 
was  brought  to  head  south,  with  the  wind  light  at  the 
westward.  The  sea  was  greatly  diminished  about 
noon  ;  but  a  mile  an  hour,  for  those  who  had  so  long 
a  road  before  them,  and  who  were  so  near  a  coast 
that  was  known  to  be  fearfully  inhospitable,  was  a 
cheerless  progress,  and  the  cry  of  "sail,  ho  !"  early 
in  the  afternoon,  diffused  a  general  joy  in  the  Mon- 
tauk. 

The  stranger  was  made  to  the  southward  and  east 
ward,  and  was  standing  on  a  course  that  must  bring  her 
quite  near  to  their  own  track,  as  the  Montauk  then 
headed.  The  wind  was  so  light,  however,  that  Captain 
Truck  gave  it  as  his  opinion  they  could  not  speak  until 
night  had  set  in. 

"  Unless  the  coast  has  brought  him  up,  yonder 
flaunting  gentleman,  who  seems  to  have  had  better 
luck  with  his  light  canvass  than  ourselves,  must  be 
the  Foam,"  he  said.  "  Tobacco,  or  no  tobacco, 
bride  or  bridegroom,  the  fellow  has  us  at  last,  and  all 
the  consolation  that  is  left  is,  that  we  shall  be  much 
obliged  to  him,  now,  if  he  will  carry  us  to  Ports 
mouth,  or  into  any  other  Christian  haven.  We  have 
shown  him  what  a  kettle-bottom  can  do  before  the 
wind,  and  now  let  him  give  us  a  tow  to  windward 


208  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

like  a  generous  antagonist.     That  is  what  I  call  Yat- 
tel,  my  dear  young  lady." 

"  If  he  do  this,  he  will  indeed  prove  himself  a  gene 
rous  adversary,"  said  Eve,  "  and  we  shall  be  certain 
to  speak  well  of  his  humanity,  whatever  we  may 
think  of  his  obstinacy." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure  the  ship  in  sight  is  the  cor 
vette?"  asked  Paul  Blunt. 

"Who  else  can  it  be? — Two  vessels  are  quite 
sufficient  to  be  jammed  down  here  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  and  we  know  that  the  Englishman  must  be 
somewhere  to  leeward  of  us ;  though,  I  will  confess, 
I  had  believed  him  much  farther,  if  not  plump  up 
among  the  Mohammedans,  beginning  to  reduce  to  a 
feather-weight,  like  Captain  Riley,  who  came  out 
with  just  his  skin  and  bones,  after  a  journey  across 
the  desert." 

"  I  do  not  think  those  top-gallant-sails  have  the 
symmetry  of  the  canvass  of  a  ship-of-war." 

Captain  Truck  looked  steadily  at  the  young  man 
an  instant,  as  one  regards  a  sound  criticism,  and  then 
he  turned  his  eye  towards  the  object  of  which  they 
were  speaking. 

"  You  are  right,  sir,"  he  rejoined,  after  a  moment 
of  examination ;  "  and  I  have  had  a  lesson  in  my 
own  trade  from  one  young  enough  to  be  my  son. 
The  stranger  is  clearly  no  cruiser,  and  as  there  is  no 
port  in-shore  of  us  anywhere  near  this  latitude,  he  is 
probably  some  trader  who  has  been  driven  down 
here,  like  ourselves." 

"  And  I'm  very  sure,  captain,"  put  in  Sir  George 
Templemore,  "  we  ought  to  rejoice  sincerely  that, 
like  ourselves,  he  has  escaped  shipwreck.  For  my 
part,  I  pity  the  poor  wretches  on  board  the  Foam 
most  sincerely,  and  could  almost  wish  myself  a 
Catholic,  that  one  might  yet  offer  up  sacrifices  in 
their  behalf." 

"You  have  shown  yourself  a  Christian  throughout 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  209 

all'that  [affair,  Sir  George,  and  I  shall  not  forget 
your  handsome  offers  to  befriend  the  ship,  rather 
than  let  us  fall  into  the  jaws  of  the  Philistines.  We 
were  in  a  category  more  than  once,  with  that  nimble- 
looted  racer  in  our  wake,  and  you  were  the  man, 
Sir  George,  who  manifested  the  most  hearty  desire 
to  get  us  out." 

"I  ever  feel  an  interest  in  the  ship  in  which  I  em 
bark,"  returned  the  gratified  baronet,  who  was  not 
displeased  at  hearing  his  liberality  so  openly  com 
mended  ;  "  and  I  would  cheerfully  have  given  a 
thousand  pounds  in  preference  to  being  taken.  I 
rather  think,  now,  that  is  the  true  spirit  for  a  sports 
man  !"  * 

"  Or  for  an  admiral,  my  good  sir.  To  be  frank 
with  you,  Sir  George,  when  I  first  had  the  honour  of 
your  acquaintance,  I  did  not  think  you  had  so  much 
in  you.  There  was  a  sort  of  English  attention  to 
small  wares,  a  species  of  knee-buckleism  about  your 
debult,  as  Mr.  Dodge  calls  it,  that  made  me  distrust 
your  being  the  whole-souled  and  one-idea'd  man  1 
find  you  really  arc." 

"  Oh !  I  do  like  my  comforts,"  said  Sir  George, 
laughing. 

"  That  you  do,  and  I  am  only  surprised  you  don't 
smoke.  Now,  Mr.  Dodge,  your  room-mate,  there, 
tells  me  you  have  six-and-thirty  pair  of  breeches  !" 

"  I  have — yes,  indeed,  I  have.  One  would  wish  to 
go  abroad  decently  clad." 

"  Well !  if  it  should  be  our  luck  to  travel  in  the 
deserts,  your  wardrobe  would  rig  out  a  whole  harem." 

"  I  wish,  captain,  you  would  do  me  the  favour  to 
step  into  our  state-room,  some  morning ;  1  have 
many  curious  things  I  should  like  to  show  you.  A 
setof"  razors, in  particular,-r-and  a  dressing-case — and 
a  pair  of  patent  pistols — and  that  life-preserver  that 
you  admire  so  much,  Mr.  Dodge.  Mr.  Dodge  has 
seen  most  of  my  curiosities,  I  believe,  and  will 
18* 


210  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

tell  you  some  of  them  are  really  worth  a  moment's 
examination." 

"  Yes,  captain,  I  must  say,"  observed  Mr.  Dodge, 
— tor  this  conversation  was  held  apart  between  the 
three,  the  mate  keeping  an  eye  the  while  on  the  duty 
of  the  ship,  for  habit  had  given  Mr.  Truck  the  faculty 
of  driving  his  people  while  he  entertained  his  pas 
sengers — "  Yes,  captain,  I  must  say  I  have  met  no 
gentleman  who  is  better  supplied  with  necessaries, 
than  my  friend,  Sir  George.  But  English  gentlemen 
are  curious  in  such  things,  and  I  admit  that  I  admire 
their  ingenuity." 

"Particularly  in  breeches,  Mr.  Dodge.  Have  you 
coats  to  match,  Sir  George  ?"  ^ 

"  Certainly,  sir.  One  would  be  a  little  absurd  in 
his  shirt  sleeves.  I  wish,  captain,  we  could  make 
Mr.  Dodge  a  little  less  of  a  republican.  I  find  him  a 
most  agreeable  room-mate,  but  rather  annoying  on 
the  subject  of  kings  and  princes." 

"  You  stick  up  for  the  people,  Mr.  Dodge,  or  to  the 
old  category?" 

"  On  that  subject,  Sir  George  and  I  shall  never 
agree,  for  he  is  obstinately  monarchial ;  but  I  tell 
him  we  shall  treat  him  none  the  worse  for  that,  when 
he  gets  among  us.  He  has  promised  me  a  visit  in 
our  part  of  the  country,  and  I  have  pledged  myself 
to  his  being  unqualifiedly  well  received  ;  and  I  think 
1  know  the  whole  meaning  of  a  pledge." 

"  I  understand  Mr.  Dodge,"  pursued  the  baronet, 
"  that  he  is  the  editor  of  a  public  journal,  in  which 
he  entertains  his  readers  with  an  account  of  his  ad 
ventures  and  observations  during  his  travels.  '  The 
Active  Inquirer,'  is  it  not,  Mr.  Dodge  ?" 

"  That  is  the  name,  Sir  George.  «  The  Active  In 
quirer'  is  the  present  name,  though  when  we  sup 
ported  Mr.  Adams  it  was  called  '  The  Active  En 
quirer,'  with  an  E." 

"A  distinction  without  a  difference;  I  like  that," 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  211 

interrupted  Captain  Truck.  "  This  is  the  second 
time  I  have  had  the  honour  to  sail  with  Mr.  Dodge, 
and  a  more  active  inquirer  never  put  foot  in  a  ship, 
though  I  did  not  know  the  use  he  put  his  information 
to  before.  It  is  all  in  the  way  of  trade,  I  find." 

"  Mr.  Dodge  claims  to  belong  to  a  profession,  cap 
tain,  and  is  quite  above  trade.  He  tells  me  many 
things  have  occurred  on  board  this  ship,  since  we 
sailed,  that  will  make  very  eligible  paragraphs." 

"  The  d he  does  ! — I  should  like  particularly 

well,  Mr.  Dodge,  to  know  what  you  will  find  to  say 
concerning  this  category  in  which  the  Montauk  is 
placed." 

"  Oh !  captain,  no  fear  of  me,  when  you  are  con 
cerned.  You  know  I  am  a  friend,  and  you  have  no 
cause  to  apprehend  anything ;  though  I  Ml  not  an 
swer  for  everybody  else  on  board ;  for  there  are 
passengers  in  this  ship  to  whom  I  have  decided  an 
tipathies,  and  whose  deportment  meets  with  'my  un 
qualified  disapprobation." 

"  And  you  intend  to  paragraph  them  ?" 

Mr.  Dodge  was  now  swelling  with  the  conceit  of 
a  vulgar  and  inflated  man,  who  not  only  fancies 
himself  in  possession  of  a  power  that  others  dread, 
but  who  was  so  far  blinded  to  his  own  qualities  as  to 
think  his  opinion  of  importance  to  those  whom  he 
felt,  in  the  minutest  fibre  of  his  envious  and  malig 
nant  system,  to  be  in  every  essential  his  superiors. 
He  did  riot  dare  express  all  his  rancour,  while  he 
was  unequal  to  suppressing  it  entirely. 

"  These  Effinghams,  and  this  Mr.  8harp,  and  that 
Mr.  Blunt,"  he  muttered,  "  think  themselves  every 
body's  betters  ;  but  we  shall  see  !  America  is  not  a 
country  in  which  people  can  shut  themselves  up  in 
rooms,  and  fancy  they  are  lords  and  ladies." 

"  Bless  my  soul !"  said  Captain  Truck,  with  his 
affected  simplicity  of  manner ;  "  how  did  you  find 


212  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

this  out,  Mr.  Dodge  ?  What  a  thing  it  is,  Sir  George, 
to  be  an  active  inquirer  P' 

4<  Oh  !  I  know  when  a  man  is  blown  up  with  no 
tions  of  his  own  importance.  As  for  Mr.  John  Effing- 
ham,  he  lias  been  so  long  abroad  that  he  has  forgot 
ten  that  lie  is  a  going  home  to  a  country  of  equal 
rights !" 

"  Very  true,  Mr.  Dodge ;  a  country  in  which  a 
man  cannot  shut  himself  up  in  iiis  room,  whenever 
the  notion  seizes  him.  This  is  the  spirit,  Sir  George, 
to  make  a  great  nation,  and  you  sec  that  the  daugh 
ter  is  likely  to  prove  worthy  of  the  old  lady!  But, 
my  dear  sir,  are  you  quite  sure  that  Mr.  John  Effing- 
ham  has  absolutely  so  high  a  sentiment  in  his  own 
favour.  It  would  be  awkward  business  to  make  a 
blunder  in  such  a  serious  matter,  and  murder  a  para 
graph  for  nothing.  You  should  remember  the  mis 
take  of  the  Irishman !" 

"  What  was  that?"  asked  the  baronet,  who  was 
completely  mystified  by  the  indomitable  gravity  of 
Captain  Truck,  whose  character  might  be  said  to  be 
actually  formed  by  the  long  habit  of  treating  the 
weaknesses  of  his  fellow-creatures  with  cool  con 
tempt.  "  We  hear  many  good  things  at  our  club  ; 
but  I  do  not  remember  the  mistake  of  the  Irish 
man?" 

"He  merely  mistook  the  drumming  in  his  own 
ear,  for  some  unaccountable  noise  that  disturbed  his 
companions." 

Mr.  Dodge  felt  uncomfortable  ;  but  there  is  no  one 
in  \vhom  a  vulgar-minded  man  stands  so  much  in 
awe  as  an  immovable  quiz,  who  has  no  scruple  Jn 
using  his  power.  He  shook  his  head,  therefore,  in  a 
menacing  manner,  and  affecting  to  have  something 
to  do  he  went  below,  leaving  the  baronet  and  captain 
by  themselves. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  is  a  stubborn  friend  of  liberty,"  said 
the  former,  when  his  room-mate  was  out  of  hearing. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  213 

"  That  is  he,  and  you  have  his  own  word  for  it. 
He  has  no  notion  of  letting  a  man  do  as  he  has  a 
mind  to  !  We  are  full  of  such  active  inquirers  in 
America,  and  I  don't  care  how  many  you  shoot  be 
fore  you  begin  upon  the  white  bears,  Sir  George." 

"But  it  would  be  more  gracious  in  the  Effing- 
hams,  you  must  allow,  captain,  if  they  shut  them 
selves  up  in  their  cabin  less,  and  admitted  us  to  their 
society  a  little  oftener.  I  am  quite  of  Mr.  Dodge's 
way  of  thinking,  that  exclusion  is  excessively  odious." 

"  There  is  a  poor  fellow  in  the  steerage,  Sir 
George,  to  whom  I  have  given  a  piece  of  canvass  to 
repair  a  damage  to  his  mainsail,  who  would  say  the 
same  thing,  did  he  know  of  your  six-and-thirtys. 
Take  a  cigar,  my  dear  sir,  and  smoke  away  sorrow." 

"Thankee,  captain:  I  never  smoke.  We  never 
smoke  at  our  club,  though  some  of  us  go,  at  times,  to 
the  divan  to  try  a  chibouk.'7 

"  We  can't  all  have  cabins  to  ourselves,  or  no  one 
would  live  forward,  Sir  George.  If  the  Effinghams 
like  their  own  apartment,  I  do  honestly  believe  it  is 
for  a  reason  as  simple  as  that  it  is  the  best  in  the  ship. 
I  '11  warrant  you,  if  there  were  a  better,  that  they 
would  be  ready  enough  to  change.  I  suppose  when 
we  get  in,  Mr.  Dodge  will  honour  you  with  an  arti 
cle  in  'The  Active  Inquirer?" 

"  To  own  the  truth,  he  has  intimated  some  such 
thing."  fc 

"And  why  not?  A  very  instructive  paragraph 
might  be  made  about  the  six-and-thirty  pair  of 
breeches,  and  the  patent  razors,  and  the  dressing- 
case,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
the  white  bears." 

Sir  George  now  began  to  feel  uncomfortable,  and 
making  a  few  unmeaning  remarks  about  the  late  ac 
cident,  he  disappeared. 

Captain  Truck,  who  never  smiled  except  at  the 
corner  of  his  left  eye,  turned  away,  and  began  rat- 


214  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

tlirig  off  his  people,  and  throwing  in  a  hint  01  two  to 
Saunders,  with  as  much  indifference  as  if  he  were  a 
firm  believer  in  the  unfailing  orthodoxy  of  a  news 
paper,  and  entertained  a  profound  respect  for  the 
editor  of « The  Active  Inquirer,' in  particular. 

The  prognostic  of  the  master  concerning  the 
strange  ship  proved  true,  for  about  nine  at  night  she 
came  within  hail,  and  backed  her  maintop-sail.  This 
vessel  proved  to  be  an  American  in  ballast,  bound 
from  Gibraltar  to  New  York ;  a  return  store-ship 
from  the  squadron  kept  in  the  Mediterranean.  She 
had  met  the  gale  to  the  westward  of  Madeira,  arid 
after  holding  on  as  long  as  possible,  had  also  been 
compelled  to  scud.  According  to  the  report  of  her 
officers,  the  Foam  had  run  in  much  closer  to  the 
coast  than  herself,  and  it  was  their  opinion  she  was 
lost.  Their  own  escape  was  owing  entirely  to  the 
winds  abating,  for  they  had  actually  been  within 
sight  of  the  land,  though  having  received  no  injury, 
they  had  been  able  to  haul  off  in  season. 

Luckily,  this  ship  was  ballasted  with  fresh  water, 
and  Captain  Truck  passed  the  night  in  negotiating'a 
transfer  of  his  steerage  passengers,  under  an  appre 
hension  that,  in  the  crippled  state  of  his  own  vessel, 
his  supplies  might  be  exhausted  before  he  could 
reach  America.  In  the  morning,  the  offer  of  being 
put  on  board  the  store-ship  was  made  to  those  who 
chose  to  accept  it,  and  all  in  the  steerage,  with  most 
from  the  cabin,  profited  by  the  occasion  to  exchange 
a  dismasted  vessel  for  one  that  was,  at  least,  full  rig 
ged.  Provisions  were  transferred  accordingly,  and 
by  noon  next  day  the  stranger  made  sail  on  a  wind, 
the  sea  being  tolerably  smooth,  and  the  breeze  still 
ahead.  In  three  hours  she  was  out  of  sight  to  the  north 
ward  and  westward,  the  Montauk  holding  her  own 
dull  course  to  the  southward,  with  the  double  view  of 
striking  the  trades,  or  of  reaching  one  of  the  Cape 
de  Verdcs. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  215 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Steph. — His  forward  voice  now  is  to  speak  well  of  his  friend  ; 
his  backward  voice  is  to  utter  foul  speeches,  and  to  detract. 

Tempest. 

THE  situation  of  the  Montauk  appeared  more  de 
solate  than  ever,  after  the  departure  of  so  many  of 
her  passengers.  So  long  as  her  decks  were  throng 
ed  there  was  an  air  of  life  about  her,  that  served  to 
lessen  disquietude,  but  now  that  she  was  left  by  all 
in  the  steerage,  and  by  so  many  in  the  cabins,  those 
who  remained  began  to  entertain  livelier  apprehen 
sions  of  the  future.  When  the  upper  sails  of  the 
store-ship  sunk  as  a  speck  in  the  ocean,  Mr.  Effing- 
ham  regretted  that  he,  too,  had  not.  overcome  his  re 
luctance  to  a  crowded  and  inconvenient  cabin,*  and 
gone  on  board  her,  with  his  own  party.  Thirty 
years  before  he  would  have  thought  himself  fortu 
nate  in  finding  so  good  a  ship,  and  accommodations 
so  comfortable,  for  a  passage ;  but  habit  and  indul 
gence  change  all  our  opinions,  and  he  had  now 
thought  it  next  to  impossible  to  place  Eve  and  Ma 
demoiselle  Viefville  in  a  situation  that  was  so  com 
mon  to  those  who  travelled  by  sea  at  the  com 
mencement  of  the  century. 

Most  of  the  cabin  passengers,  as  has  just  been 
stated,  decided  differently,  none,  remaining  but  the 
Effinghams  and  their  party ;  Mr,  Sharp,  Mr.  Blunt, 
Sir  George  Templemore,  Mr.  Dodge,  and  Mr.  Mon 
day.  Mr.  Effingham  had  been  influenced  by  the  su 
perior  comforts  of  the  packet,  and  his  hopes  that  a 
speedy  arrival  at  the  islands  would  enable  the  ship 
to  refit,  in  time  to  reach  America  almost  as  soon  as 
the  dull-sailing  vessel  which  had  just  left  them.  Mr. 


21 G  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt  had  both  expressed  a  determi 
nation  to  share  his  fortunes,  which  was  indirectly 
saying  that  they  would  share  the  fortunes  of  his 
daughter.  John  Effingham  remained  as  a  matter  of 
course,  though  he  had  made  a  proposition  to  the 
stranger  to  tow  them  into  port,  an  arrangement  that 
failed  in  consequence  of  the  two  captains  disagreeing 
as  to  the  course  proper  to  be  steered,  as  well  as  to  a 
more  serious  obstacle  in  the  way  of  compensation, 
the  stranger  throwing  out  some  pretty  plain  hints 
about  salvage  ;  and  Mr.  Monday  staying  from  an  in 
veterate  attachment  to  the  steward's  stores,  more  of 
which,  he  rightly  judged,  would  now  fall  to  his  share 
than  formerly. 

Sir  George  Templemore  had  gone  on  board  the 
store-ship,  and  had  given  some  very  clear  demon 
strations  of  an  intention  to  transfer  himself  and  the 
thirty-six  pair  of  breeches  to  that  vessel  ;  but  on  ex 
amining  her  comforts,  and  particularly  the  confined 
place  in  which  he  would  be  compelled  to  stow  him 
self  and  his  numerous  curiosities,  he  was  unequal  to 
the  sacrifice.  On  the  other  hand,  he  knew  an  entire 
state-room  would  now  fall  to  his  share,  and  this  self- 
indulged  and  feeble-minded  young  man  preferred  his 
immediate  comfort,  and  the  gratification  of  his  be 
setting  weakness,  to  his  safety. 

As  for  Mr.  Dodge,  he  had  the  American  mania  of 
hurry,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to  propose  a  general 
swarming,  as  soon  as  it  was  known  the  stranger 
could  receive  them.  During  the  night,  he  had  been 
actively  employed  in  fomenting  a  party  to  "  resolve" 
that  prudence  required  the  Montauk  should  be  alto 
gether  abandoned,  and  even  after  this  scheme  failed, 
he  had  dwelt  eloquently  in  corners  (Mr.  Dodge  was 
too  meek,  and  too  purely  democratic,  ever  to  speak 
aloud,  unless  under  the  shadow  of  public  opinion,) 
on  the  propriety  of  Captain  Truck's  yielding  his  own 
judgment  to  that  of  the  majority.  He  might  as  well 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  217 

have  scolded  against  the  late  gale,  in  the  expectation 
of  out-railing  the  tempest,  as  to  make  such  an  at 
tempt  on  the  firm-set  notions  of  the  old  seaman  con 
cerning  his  duty;  for  no  sooner  was  the  thing  inti 
mated  to  him  than  he  growled  a  denial  in  a  tone  that 
he  was  little  accustomed  to  use  to  his  passengers, 
and  one  that  effectually  silenced  remonstrance.  When 
these  two  plans  had  failed,  Mr.  Dodge  endeavoured 
strenuously  to  show  Sir  George  that  his  interests  and 
safety  were  on  the  side  of  a  removal ;  but  with  all 
his  eloquence,  and  with  the  hold  that  incessant  adula 
tion  had  actually  given  him  on  the  mind  of  the  other, 
he  was  unable  to  overcome  his  love  of  ease,  and 
chiefly  the  passion  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  hundred 
articles  of  comfort  and  curiosity  in  which  the  baro 
net  so  much  delighted.  The  breeches  might  have 
been  packed  in  a  trunk,  it  is  true,  and  so  might  the 
razors,  and  the  dressing-case,  and  the  pistols,  and 
most  of  the  other  things ;  but  Sir  George  loved  to 
look  at  them  daily,  and  as  many  as  possible  were 
constantly  paraded  before  his  eyes. 

To  the  surprise  of  every  one,  Mr.  Dodge,  on  find 
ing  it  impossible  to  prevail  on  Sir  George  Temple- 
more  to  leave  the  packet,  suddenly  announced  his 
own  intention  to  remain  also.  Few  stopped  to  in 
quire  into  his  motives  in  the  hurry  of  such  a  moment. 
To  his  room-mate  he  affirmed  that  the  strong  friend 
ship  he  had  formed  for  him,  could  alone  induce  him 
to  relinquish  the  hope  of  reaching  home  previously  to 
the  autumn  elections. 

Nor  did  Mr.  Dodge  greatly  colour  the  truth  in 
making  this  statement.  He  was  an  American  dema 
gogue  precisely  in  obedience  to  those  feelings  and 
inclinations  which  would  have  made  him  a  courtier 
anywhere  else.  It  is  true,  he  had  travelled,  or 
thought  he  had  travelled,  in  a  diligence  with  a  count 
ess  or  two,  but  from  these  he  had  been  obliged  to 
separate  early  on  account  of  the  force  of  things; 

VOL.  r.  19 


218  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

while  here  he  had  got  a  bond-fide  English  baronet  all  to 
himself,  in  a  confined  state-room,  and  his  imagination 
revelled  in  the  glory  and  gratification  of  such  an  ac 
quaintance.  What  were  the  proud  and  distant  Ef- 
fmghams  to  Sir  George  Templemore  !  He  even  as 
cribed  their  reserve  with  the  baronet  to  envy,  a  pas 
sion  of  whose  existence  he  had  very  lively  percep 
tions,  and  he  found  a  secret  charm  in  being  shut  up 
in  so  small  an  apartment  with  a  man  who  could  ex 
cite  envy  in  an  Effingham.  Rather  than  abandon 
his  aristocratical  prize,  therefore,  whom  he  intended 
to  exhibit  to  all  his  democratic  friends  in  his  own 
neighbourhood,  Mr.  Dodge  determined  to  abandon 
his  beloved  hurry,  looking  for  his  reward  in  the  fu 
ture  pleasure  of  talking  of  Sir  George  Templemore 
and  his  curiosities,  and  his  sayings  and  his  jokes,  in 
the  circle  at  home.  Odd,  moreover,  as  it  may  seem, 
Mr.  Dodge  had  an  itching  desire  to  remain  with  the 
Effinghams;  for  while  he  was  permitting  jealousy 
and  a  consciousness  of  inferiority  to  beget  hatred,  he 
was  willing  at  any  moment  to  make  peace,  provided 
it  could  be  done  by  a  frank  admission  into  their  inti 
macy.  As  to  the  innocent  family  that  was  rendered 
of  so  much  account  to  the  happiness  of  Mr.  Dodge,  it 
seldom  thought  of  that  individual  at  all,  little  dream 
ed  of  its  own  importance  in  his  estimation,  and 
merely  acted  in  obedience  to  its  own  cultivated 
tastes  and  high  principles  in  disliking  his  company. 
It  fancied  itself,  in  this  particular,  the  master  of  its 
own  acts,  and  this  so  much  the  more,  that  with  the 
reserve  of  good-breeding  its  members  seldom  indul 
ged  in  censorious  personal  remarks,  and  never  in 
gossip, 

As  a  consequence  of  these  contradictory  feelings 
of  Mr.  Dodge,  and  of  the  fastidiousness  of  Sir  George 
Templemore,  the  interest  her  two  admirers  took  in 
Eve,  the  devotion  of  Mr.  Monday  to  sherry  and 
champaigne,  and  the  decision  of  Mr.  Effingham, 


KOMEWARD    BOUND.  219 

these  persons  therefore  remained  the  sole  occupants 
of  the  cabins  of  the  Montauk.  Of  the  oi  polloi,  who 
had  left  them,  we  have  hitherto  said  nothing,  be 
cause  this  separation  was  to  remove  them  entirely 
from  the  interest  of  our  incidents. 

If  we  were  to  say  that  Captain  Truck  did  not  feel 
melancholy  as  the  store-ship  sunk  beneath  the  hori 
zon,  we  should  represent  that  stout-hearted  mariner 
as  more  stoical  than  he  actually  was,  In  the  course 
of  a  long  and  adventurous  professional  life,  he 
had  encountered  calamities  before,  but  he  had  never 
before  been  compelled  to  call  in  assistance  to  de 
liver  his  passengers  at  the  stipulated  port,  since  he 
had  commanded  a  packet.  He  felt  the  necessity,  in 
the  present  instance,  as  a  sort  of  stain  upon  his  cha 
racter  as  a  seaman,  though  in  fact  the  accident  which 
had  occurred  was  chiefly  to  be  attributed  to  a  con 
cealed  defect  in  the  mainmast.  The  honest  master 
sighed  often,  smoked  nearly  double  the  usual  number 
of  cigars  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  and  when 
the  sun  went  down  gloriously  in  the  distant  west,  he 
stood  gazing  at  the  sky  in  melancholy  silence,  as  long 
as  any  of  the  magnificent  glory  that  accompanies  the 
decline  of  day  lingered  afhong  the  vapours  of  the 
horizon.  He  then  summoned  Saunders  to  the  quar 
ter-deck,  where  the  following  dialogue  took  place  be 
tween  them. 

"  This  is  a  devil  of  a  category  to  be  in,  Master 
Steward  !" 

"  Well,  he  might  be  better,  sir.  I  only  wish  the 
good  butter  may  endure  until  we  get  in." 

"  If  it  fail,  I  shall  go  nigh  to  see  you  clapt  into  the 
State's  prison,  or  at  least  into  that  Gothic  cottage  on 
BlackwelPs  Island." 

"There  is  an  end  to  all  things,  Captain  Truck,  if 
you  please,  sir,  even  to  butter.  I  presume,  sir,  Mr. 
Vattel,  if  he  know  anything  of  cookery,  will  admit 
that." 


220  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"  Harkee,  Saunders,  if  you  ever  insinuate  again 
that  Vattel  belonged  to  the  coppers,  in  my  presence, 
I  '11  take  the  liberty  to  land  you  on  the  coast  here, 
where  you  may  amuse  yourself  in  stewing  young 
monkeys  for  your  own  dinner.  I  saw  you  aboard 
the  other  ship,  sir,  overhauling  her  arrangements ; 
what  sort  of  a  time  will  the  gentlemen  be  likely  to 
have  in  her  ?" 

"  Atrocious,  sir  !  I  give  you  my  honour,  as  a  real 
gentleman,  sir.  Why,  would  you  believe  it,  Captain 
Truck,  the  steward  is  a  downright  nigger,  and  he 
wears  ear-rings,  and  a  red  flannel  shirt,  without  the 
least  edication.  As  for  the  cook,  sir,  he  wouldn't 
pass  an  examination  for  Jemmy  Ducks  aboard  here, 
and  there  is  but  one  camboose,  and  one  set  of  cop 
pers." 

"  Well,  the  steerage-passengers,  in  that  case,  will 
fare  as  well  as  the  cabin." 

"  Yes,  sir,  and  the  cabin  as  bad  as  the  steerage; 
and  for  my  part,  I  abomernate  liberty  and  equality." 

"  You  should  converse  with  Mr.  Dodge  on  that 
subject,  Master  Saunders,  and  let  the  hardest  fend 
off  in  the  argument.  May  I  inquire,  sir,  if  you  hap 
pen  to  remember  the  day  of  the  week?" 

"  Beyond  controwersy,  sir ;  to-morrow  will  be  Sun 
day,  Captain  Truck,  and  1  think  it  a  thousand  pities 
we  have  not  an  opportunity  to  solicit  the  prayers 
and  praises  of  the  church,  sir,  in  our  behalf,  sir." 

"  If  to-morrow  will  be  Sunday,  to-day  must  be  Sa 
turday,  Mr.  Saunders,  unless  this  last  gale  has  de 
ranged  the  calendar." 

"Quite  naturally,  sir,  and  werry  justly  remarked. 
Every  body  admits  there  is  no  better  navigator  than 
Captain  Truck,  sir." 

"  This  may  be  true,  my  honest  fellow,"  returned 
the  captain  moodily,  after  making  three  or  four  heavy 
puffs  at  the  cigar ;  "  but  I  am  sadly  out  of  my  road 
down  here  in  the  country  of  your  amiabl^^amily, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  221 

just  now.  It  this  be  Saturday,  there  will  be  a  Sa 
turday  night  before  long,  and  look  to  it,  that  we  have 
our  '  sweethearts  and  wives.'  Though  I  have  nei 
ther  myself,  I  feel  the  necessity  of  something  cheer 
ful,  to  raise  my  thoughts  to  the  future." 

"  Depend  on  my  discretion,  sir,  and  I  rejoice  to 
hear  you  say  it ;  for  I  think,  sir,  a  ship  is  never  so 
respectable  and  genteel  as  when  she  celebrates  all  the 
anniversaries.  You  will  be  quite  a  select  and  agree 
able  party  to-night,  sir." 

With  this  remark  Mr.  Saunders  withdrew,  to  con 
fer  with  Toast  on  the  subject,  arid  Captain  Truck 
proceeded  to  give  his  orders  for  the  night  to  Mr. 
Leach.  The  proud  ship  did  indeed  present  a  sight 
to  make  a  seaman  melancholy ;  for  to  the  only  re 
gular  sail  that  stood,  the  foresail,  by  this  time  was 
added  a  lower  studding-sail,  imperfectly  rigged,  and 
which  would  not  resist  a  fresh  puff,  while  a  very  in 
artificial  jury-topmast  supported  a  topgallant-sail, 
that  could  only  be  carried  in  a  free  wind.  Aft,  pre 
parations  were  making  of  a  more  permanent  nature, 
it  is  true.  The  upper  part  of  the  mainmast  had  been 
cut  away,  as  low  as  the  steerage-deck,  where  an  ar 
rangement  had  been  made  to  step  a  spare  topmast. 
The  spar  itself  was  lying  on  the  deck  rigged,  and  a 
pair  of  sheers  were  in  readiness  to  be  hoisted,  in 
order  to  sway  it  up ;  but  night  approaching,  the 
men  had  been  broken  off,  to  rig  the  yards,  bend  the 
sails,  and  to  fit  the  other  spars  it  was  intended  to  use, 
postponing  the  last  act,  that  of  sending  all  up  until 
morning. 

"We  are  likely  to  have  a  quiet  night  of  it,"  said 
the  captain,  glancing  his  eyes  round  at  the  heavens ; 
"  and  at  eight  o'clock  to-morrow  let  all  hands  be 
called,  when  we  will  turn-to  with  a  will,  and  make  a 
brig  of  the  old  hussey.  This  topmast  will  do  to  bear 
the  strain  of  the  spare  mainyard,  unless  there  come 
another  gale,  and  by  reefing  the  new  mainsail  we 


222  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

shall  be  able  to  make  something  out  of  it.  The  top 
gallant-mast  will  fit  of  course  above,  and  xve  may 
make  out,  by  keeping  a  little  free,  to  carry  the  sail : 
at  need,  we  may  possibly  coax  the  contrivance  into 
carrying  a  studding-sail  also.  We  have  sticks  for  no 
more,  though  we  '11  endeavour  to  get  up  something 
aft,  out  of  the  spare  spars  obtained  from  the  store- 
ship.  You  may  knock  off  at  four  bells,  Mr.  Leach, 
and  let  the  poor  fellows  have  their  Saturday's  night 
in  peace.  It  is  a  misfortune  enough  to  be  dismasted, 
without  having  one's  grog  stopped." 

The  mate  of  course  obeyed,  and  the  evening  shut 
in  beautifully  and  placid,  with  all  the  glory  of  a  mild 
night,  in  a  latitude  as  low  as  that  they  were  in.  They 
who  have  never  seen  the  ocean  under  such  circum 
stances,  know  little  of  its  charms  in  its  moments  of 
rest.  The  term  of  sleeping  is  well  applied  to  its  im 
pressive  stillness,  for  the  long  sluggish  swells  on 
which  the  ship  rose  and  fell,  hardly  disturbed  its 
surface.  The  moon  did  not  rise  until  midnight,  and 
Eve,  accompanied  by  Mademoiselle  Viefville  and  most 
of  her  male  companions,  walked  the  deck  by  the 
bright  starlight,  until  fatigued  with  pacing  their  nar 
row  bounds. 

The  song  and  the  laugh  rose  frequently  from  the 
lorecastle,  where  the  crew  were  occupied  with  their 
Saturday-night;  and  occasionally  a  rude  sentiment 
in  the  way  of  a  toast  was  heard.  But  weariness 
soon  got  the  better  of  merriment  forward,  and  the 
(hard-worked  mariners,  who  had  the  watch  below, 
soon  went  down  to  their  berths,  leaving  those  whose 
doty  it  was  to  remain  to  doze  away  the  long  hours  in 
such  places  as  they  could  find  on  deck. 

"  A  white  squall,"  said  Captain  Truck,  looking  up 
at  the  uncouth  sails  that  hardly  impelled  the  vessel  a 
mile  in  the  hour  through  the  water,  "  would  soon  furl 
all  our  canvass  for  us,  and  we  are  in  the  very  place 
for  such  an  interlude." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  223 

"  And  what  would  then  become  of  us  T1  asked 
Mademoiselle  Viefville  quickly. 

"  You  had  better  ask  what  would  become  of  that 
apology  for  a  topsail,  mam'selle,  and  yonder  stun'- 
sail,  which  looks  like  an  American  in  London  with 
out  straps  to  his  pantaloons.  The  canvass  would 
play  kite,  and  we  should  be  left  to  renew  our  inven 
tions.  A  ship  could  scarcely  be  in  better  plight  than 
we  are  at  this  moment,  to  meet  with  one  of  these 
African  flurries." 

"  In  which  case,  captain,"  observed  Mr.  Monday, 
who  stood  by  the  skylight  watching  the  preparations 
below,  "  we  can  go  to  our  Saturday-night  without 
fear;  for  I  see  the  steward  has  everything  ready, 
and  the  punch  looks  very  inviting,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  champaigne." 

"  Gentlemen,  \ve  will  not  forget  our  duty,"  re 
turned  the  captain  ;  "  we  are  but  a  small  family,  and 
so  much  the  greater  need  that  \ve  should  prove  a  jolly 
one.  Mr.  Effingham,  I  hope  we  are  to  have  the  ho 
nour  of  your  company  at  *  sweethearts  and  wives.*  " 

Mr.  Effingham  had  no  wife,  and  the  invitation 
coming  under  such  peculiar  circumstances,  produced 
a  pang  that  Eve,  who  felt  his  arm  tremble,  well  un 
derstood.  She  mildly  intimated  her  intention  to  go 
below  however ;  the  whole  party  followed,  and  lucky 
it  was  for  the  captain's  entertainment  that  she  quit 
ted  the  deck,  as  few  would  otherwise  have  been  pre 
sent  at  it.  By  pressing  the  passengers  to  favour  him 
with'  their  company,  he  succeeded  in  getting  all  the 
gentlemen  seated  at  the  cabin-table,  with  a  glass  of 
delicious  punch  before  each  man,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  minutes. 

"Mr.  Saunders  may  not  be  a  conjuror  or  a  mathe 
matician,  gentlemen,"  cried  Captain  Truck,  as  he 
ladled  out  the  beverage ;  "  but  he  understands  the 
philosophy  of  sweet  arid  sour,  strong  and  weak  ;  and 
I  will  venture  to  praise  his  liquor  without  tasting  it. 


224  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

Well,  gentlemen,  there  are  better-rigged  ships  on  the 
ocean  than  this  of  ours;  but  there  arc  few  with 
more  comfortable  cabins,  or  stouter  hulls,  or  better 
company.  Please  God  we  can  get  a  few  sticks  aloft, 
again,  now  that  we  are  quit  of  our  troublesome  sha 
dow,  I  think  1  may  flatter  myself  with  a  reasonable 
hope  of  landing  you,  that  do  me  the  honour  to  stand 
by  me,  in  New  York,  in  less  time  than  a  common 
dregger  would  make  the  passage,  with  all  his  legs 
nnd  arms.  Let  our  first  toast  be,  if  you  please,  '  A 
happy  end  to  that  which  has  had  a  disastrous  be 
ginning.'  " 

Captain  Truck's  hard  face  twitched  a  little  while 
he  \vas  making  this  address,  and  as  he  swallowed 
the  punch,  his  eyes  glistened  in  spite  of  himself. 
Mi:  Dodge,  Sir  George,  and  Mr.  Monday  repeated 
the  sentiment  sonorously,  word  for  word,  while  the 
other  gentlemen  bowed,  and  drank  it  in  silence. 

The  commencement  of  a  regular  scene  of  merri 
ment  is  usually  dull  and  formal,  and  it  was  some  time 
before  Captain  Truck  could  bring  any  of  his  com 
panions  up  to  the  point  where  he  wished  to  see  them  ; 
for  though  a  perfectly  sober  man,  he  loved  a  social 
glass,  and  particularly  at  those  times  and  seasons 
which  conformed  to  the  practices  of  his  calling.  Al 
though  Eve  and  her  governess  had  declined  taking 
their  seats  at  the  table,  they  consented  to  place  them 
selves  where  they  might  be  seen,  and  where  they 
might  share  occasionally  in  the  conversation. 

"  Here  have  I  been  drinking  sweethearts  and  wives 
of  a  Saturday-night,  my  dear  young  lady,  these  forty 
years  and  more,"  said  Captain  Truck,  after  the  party 
had  sipped  their  liquor  for  a  minute  or  two,  "  without 
ever  falling  into  luck's  latitude,  or  furnishing  myself 
with  either ;  but,  though  so  negligent  of  my  own  in 
terests  and  happiness,  I  make  it  an  invariable  rule  to 
advise  all  my  young  friends  to  got  spliced  before  they 
are  thirty.  Many  is  the  man  who  has  come  aboard 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  225 

my  ship  a  determined  bachelor  in  his  notions,  who 
has  left  it  at  the  end  of  the  passage  ready  to  marry 
the  first  pretty  young  woman  he  fell  in  with." 

As  Eve  had  too  much  of  the  self-respect  of  a  lady, 
and  of  the  true  dignity  of  her  sex,  to  permit  jokes 
concerning  matrimony,  or  a  treatise  on  love,  to  make 
a  part  of  her  conversation,  and  all  the  gentlemen  of 
her  party  understood  her  character  too  well,  to  say 
nothing  of  their  own  habits,  to  second  this  attempt 
of  the  captain's,  after  a  vapid  remark  or  two  from 
the  others,  this  rally  of  the  honest  mariner  produced 
no  suites. 

"  Are  we  not  unusually  low,  Captain  Truck,"  in 
quired  Paul  Blunt,  with  a  view  to  change  the  dis 
course,  "  not  to  have  fallen  in  with  the  trades  ?  I 
have  commonly  met  with  those  winds  on  this  coast 
as  high  as  twenty-six  or  twenty-seven,  and  I  believe 
you  observed  to  day,  in  twenty-four." 

Captain  Truck  looked  hard  at  the  speaker,  and 
when  he  had  done,  he  nodded  his  head  in  approba 
tion. 

"  You  have  travelled  this  road  before,  Mr.  Blunt,  I 
perceive.  I  have  suspected  you  of  being  a  brother 
chip,  from  the  moment  I  saw  you  first  put  your  foot 
on  the  side-cleets  in  getting  out  of  the  boat.  You 
did  not  come  aboard  parrot-toed,  like  a  country  girl 
waltzing ;  but  set  the  ball  of  the  foot  firmly  on  the 
wood,  and  swung  oft"  the  length  of  your  arms,  like  a 
man  who  knows  how  to  humour  the  muscles.  Your 
present  remark,  too,  shows  you  understand  where  a 
ship  ought  to  be,  in  order  to  be  in  her  right  place. 
As  for  the  trades,  they  are  a  little  uncertain,  like  a 
lady's  mind  when  she  has  more  than  one  good  offer; 
for  I've  known  them  to  blow  as  high  as  thirty,  and 
then  again,  to  fail  a  vessel  as  low  as  twenty-three,  or 
even  lower.  It  is  my  private  opinion,  gentlemen,  and 
I  gladly  take  this  opportunity  to  make  it  public,  that 
we  are  on  the  edge  of  the  trades,  or  in  those  light 


226  HOMEWARD    BOUA'D. 

baffling  winds  which  prevail  along  their  margin,  as 
eddies  play  near  the  track  of  strong  steady  currents 
in  the  ocean,  If  we  can  force  the  ship  fairly  out  of 
this  trimming  region — that  is  the  word,  I  believe,  Mr, 
Dodge — we  shall  do  well  enough  ;  for  a  north-east, 
or  an  east  wind,  would  soon  send  us  up  with  the  isl 
ands,  even  under  the  rags  we  carry.  We  are  very 
near  the  coast,  certainly — much  nearer  than  I  could 
wish  ?  but  when  we  do  get  the  good  breeze,  it  will  be 
all  the  better  for  us,  as  it  will  find  us  well  to  wind 
ward." 

"  But  these  trades,  Captain  Truck  1"  asked  Eve  : 
*'  if  they  .always  blow  in  the  same  direction,  how  is 
it  possible  that  the  late  gale  should  drive  a  ship  into 
the  quarter  of  the  ocean  where  they  prevail?*' 

"Always,  means  sometimes,  my  dear  young  lady. 
Although  light  winds  prevail  near  the  edge  of  the 
trades,  gales,  and  tremendous  fellows  too,  sometimes 
blow  there  also,  as  we  have  just  seen.  I  think  we 
shall  now  have  settled  weather,  arid  that  our  chance 
of  a  safe  arrival,  more  particularly  in  some  southern 
American  port,  is  almost  certain,  though  our  chance 
for  a  speedy  arrival  be  not  quite  as  good.  I  hope 
before  twenty-four  hours  are  passed,  to  see  our  decks 
while  with  sand. 

"  Is  that  a  phenomenon  seen  here  ?"  asked  the 
father. 

"  Often,  Mr.  Eftingham,  when  ships  are  close  in 
with  Africa,  and  are  fairly  in  the  steady  winds.  To 
say  the  truth,  the  country  abreast  of  us,  some  twenty 
or  thirty  miles  distant,  is  not  the  most  inviting;  and 
though  it  may  not  be  easy  to  say  where  the  gar 
den  of  Eden  is,  it  is  not  hazardous  to  say  it  is  not 
there." 

"  If  we  are  so  very  near  the  coast,  why  do  we  not 
see  it?" 

"  Perhaps  we  might  from  aloft,  if  we  had  any 
aloft  just  now.  We  are  to  the  southward  of  the 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  227 

mountains,  however,  and  off  a  part  of  the  country 
where  the  Great  Desert  makes  from  the  coast.  And 
now,  gentlemen,  I  perceive  Mr.  Monday  finds  all  this 
sand  arid,  and  I  ask  permission  to  give  you,  one  and 
all,  '  Sweethearts  and  wives.'  " 

Most  of  the  company  drank  the  usual  toast  with 
spirit,  though  both  the  Effinghams  scarce  wetted 
their  lips.  Eve  stole  a  timid  glance  at  her  father,  and 
her  own  eyes  were  filled  with  tears  as  she  withdrew 
them  •  for  she  knew  that  every  allusion  of  this  na 
ture  revived  in  him  mournful  recollections.  As  for 
her  cousin  Jack,  he  was  so  confirmed  a  bachelor  that 
she  thought  nothing  of  his  want  of  sympathy  with 
such  a  sentiment. 

"  You  must  have  a  care  for  your  heart,  in  Ame 
rica,  Sir  George  Templemore,"  cried  Mr.  Dodge, 
whose  tongue  loosened  with  the  liquor  he  drank. 
"  Our  ladies  are  celebrated  for  their  beauty,  and  are 
immensely  popular,  I  can  assure  you." 

Sir  George  looked  pleased,  and  it  is  quite  proba 
ble  his  thoughts  ran  on  the  one  particular  vestment 
of  the  six-and-thirty,  in  which  he  ought  to  make  his 
first  appearance  in  such  a  society. 

"  I  allow  the  American  ladies  to  be  handsome," 
said  Mr.  Monday  ;  but  I  think  no  Englishman  need 
be  in  any  particular  danger  of  his  heart  from  such 
a  cause,  after  having  been  accustomed  to  the  beauty 
of  his  own  island.  Captain  Truck,  I  have  the  ho= 
nour  to  drink  your  health." 

"  Fairly  said,"  cried  the  captain,  bowing  to  the 
compliment ;  "  and  I  ascribe  my  own  hard  fortune  to 
the  fact  that  I  have  been  kept  sailing  between  two 
countries  so  much  favoured  in  this  particular,  that  I 
have  never  been  able  to  make  up  my  mind  which  to 
prefer.  I  have  wished  a  thousand  times  there  was 
but  one  handsome  woman  in  the  world,  when  a  man 
?rould  have  nothing  to  do  but  fall  in  love  with  hen 


228  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

and  make  up  his  mind  to  get  married  at  once,  or  to 
hang  himself." 

"  That  is  a  cruel  wish  to  us  men,"  returned  Sir 
George,  "  as  we  should  be  certain  to  quarrel  for  the 
beauty." 

"  In  such  a  case,"  resumed  Mr.  Monday,  "  we 
common  men  would  have  to  give  way  to  the  claims 
of  the  nobility  and  gentry,  and  satisfy  ourselves  with 
plainer  companions  ;  though  an  Englishman  loves  his 
independence,  and  might  rebel.  I  have  the  honour 
to  drink  to  your  health  and  happiness,  Sir  George." 

"  I  protest  against  your  principle,  Mr.  Monday," 
said  Mr.  Dodge,  "  wrhich  is  an  invasion  on  human 
rights.  Perfect  freedom  of  action  is  to  be  maintain 
ed  in  this  matter  as  in  all  others.  I  acknowledge  that 
the  English  ladies  are  extremely  beautiful,  but  I  shall 
always  maintain  the  supremacy  of  the  American 
fair." 

"  We  will  drink  their  healths,  sir.  I  am  far  from 
denying  their  beauty,  Mr.  Dodge,  but  I  think  you 
must  admit  that  they  fade  earlier  than  our  British  la 
dies.  God  bless  them  both,  however,  and  I  empty 
this  glass  to  the  two  entire  nations,  with  all  my  heart 
and  soul." 

"  Perfectly  polite,  Mr.  Monday ;  but  as  to  the 
fading  of  the  ladies,  I  am  not  certain  that  I  can 
yield  an  unqualified  approbation  to  your  sentiment." 

"  Nay,  sir,  your  climate,  you  will  allow,  is  none  of 
the  best,  and  it  wears  out  constitutions  almost  as  fast 
as  your  states  make  them," 

"  I  hope  there  is  no  real  danger  to  be  apprehended 
from  the  climate,"  said  Sir  George:  "I  particularly 
detest  bad  climates ;  and  for  that  reason  have  al 
ways  made  it  a  rule  never  to  go  into  Lincolnshire." 

"  In  that  case,  Sir  George,  you  had  better  have 
stayed  at  home.  In  the  way  of  climate,  a  man  sel 
dom  betters  himself  by  leaving  old  England.  Now 
this  is  the  tenth  time  I  've  been  in  America,  allowing 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  229 

that  I  ever  reach  there,  and  although  I  entertain  a 
profound  respect  for  the  country,  I  find  myself  grow 
ing  older  every  time  I  quit  it.  Mr.  Effingham,  I  do 
myself  the  favour  to  drink  to  your  health  and  happi 
ness." 

"You  live  too  well  when  among  us,  Mr.  Mon 
day,"  said  the  captain;  "there  are  too  many  soft 
crabs,  hard  clams,  and  canvass-backs;  too  much  old 
Madeira,  and  generous  Sherry,  for  a  man  of  your 
well-known  taste  to  resist  them.  Sit  less  time  at 
table,  and  go  oftener  to  church  this  trip,  and  let  us 
hear  your  report  of  the  consequences  a  twelvemonth 
hence." 

"  You  quite  mistake  my  habits,  Captain  Truck,  I 
give  you  my  honour.  Although  a  judicious  eater,  I 
seldom  take  anything  that  is  compounded,  being  a 
plain  roast  and  boiled  man  ;  a  true  old-fashioned 
Englishman  in  this  respect,  satisfying  rny  appetite 
with  solid  beef  and  mutton,  and  turkeys  and  pork, 
and  puddings  and  potatoes,  and  turnips  and  carrots, 
and  similar  simple  food;  and  then  I  never  drink. — 
Ladies,  I  ask  the  honour  to  be  permitted  to  wish  you 
a  happy  return  to  your  native  countries. — I  ascribe 
all  the  difficulty,  sir,  to  the  climate,  which  will  not 
permit  a  man  to  digest  properly." 

"  Well,  Mr.  Monday,  1  subscribe  to  most  of  your 
opinions,  and  I  believe  few  men  cross  the  ocean  toge 
ther  that  are  more  harmonious  in  sentiment,  in  ge« 
neral,  than  has  proved  to  be  the  case  between  you 
and  Sir  George,  and  myself,"  observed  Mr,  Dodge, 
glancing  obliquely  and  pointedly  at  the  vest  of  the 
party,  as  if  he  thought  they  were  in  a  decided  mi 
nority  ;  "  but  in  this  instance,  I  feel  constrained  to 
record  my  vote  in  the  negative,  I  believe  America 
has  as  good  a  climate,  and  as  good  general  digestion 
as  commonly  falls  to  the  lot  of  mortals  i  more  than 
this  I  do  not  claim  for  the  country,  and  less  than  this 
I  should  be  reluctant  to  maintain,  I  have  travelled 

VOL.  i,  20 


230  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

a  little,  gentlemen,  not  as  much,  perhaps,  as  the 
Messrs.  Effinghams ;  but  then  a  man  can  see  no  more 
than  is  to  be  seen,  and  I  do  affirm,  Captain  Truck, 
that  in  my  poor  judgment,  which  I  know  is  good 
for  nothing — " 

"  Why  do  you  use  it,  then  ?"  abruptly  asked  the 
straight-forward  captain;  "why  not  rely  on  a  bet 
ter?" 

"We  must  use  such  as  we  have,  or  go  without, 
sir;  and  I  suspect,  in  my  very  poor  judgment,  which 
is  probably  poorer  than  that  of  most  others  on  board, 
that  America  is  a  very  good  sort  of  a  country.  At 
all  events,  after  having  seen  something  of  other  coun 
tries,  and  governments,  and  people,  I  am  of  opinion 
that  America,  as  a  country,  is  quite  good  enough  for 
me." 

"  You  never  said  truer  words,  Mr.  Dodge,  and  I 
beg  you  will  join  Mr.  Monday  and  myself  in  a  fresh 
glass  of  punch,  just  to  help  on  the  digestion.  You 
have  seen  more  of  human  nature  than  your  modesty 
allows  you  to  proclaim,  and  I  dare  say  this  company 
would  be  gratified  if  you  would  overcome  all  scru 
ples,  and  let  us  know  your  private  opinions  of  the 
different  people  you  have  visited.  Tell  us  something 
of  that  dittur  you  made  on  the  Rhine." 

"  Mr.  Dodge  intends  to  publish,  it  is  to  be  hoped!" 
observed  Mr.  Sharp;  "  and  it  may  not  be  fair  to  an 
ticipate  his  matter." 

"  I  beg,  gentlemen,  you  will  have  no  scruples  on 
that  score,  for  my  work  will  be  rather  philosophical 
and  general,  than  of  the  particular  nature  of  private 
anecdotes.  Saunders,  hand  me  the  manuscript  jour 
nal  you  will  find  on  the  shelf  of  our  state-room,  next 
to  Sir  George's  patent  tooth-pick  case.  This  is  the 
book;  and  now,  gentlemen  and  ladies,  I  beg  you  to 
remember  that  these  are  merely  the  ideas  as  they 
arose,  and  not  my  more  mature  reflections." 

"  Take  a  little  punch,  sir,"  interrupted  the  captain, 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  231 

again,  whose  hard  nor'-west  face  was  set  in  the  most 
demure  attention.  "There  is  nothing  like  punch  to 
clear  the  voice,  Mr.  Dodge ;  the  acid  removes  the 
huskiness,  the  sugar  soften  the  tones,  the  water  mel 
lows  the  tongue,  and  the  Jamaica  braces  the  mus 
cles.  With  a  plenty  of  punch,  a  man  soon  gets  to 
be  another — I  forget  the  name  of  that  great  orator 
of  antiquity, — it  wasn't  Vattel,  however." 

"  You  mean  Demosthenes,  sir ;  and,  gentlemen,  I 
beg  you  to  remark  that  this  orator  was  a  republican: 
but  there  can  be  no  question  that  liberty  is  favoura 
ble  to  the  encouragement  of  all  the  higher  qualities. 
Would  you  prefer  a  few  notes  on  Paris,  ladies,  or 
shall  I  commence  with  some  extracts  about  the 
Rhine?" 

"  Oh!  de  gra.ce,  Monsieur,  be  so  very  kind  as  not 
to  overlook  Paris  ?"  said  Mademoiselle  Viefville. 

Mr.  Dodge  bowed  graciously,  and  turning  over 
the  leaves  of  his  private  journal,  he  alighted  in  the 
heart  of  the  great  city  named.  After  some  prelimi 
nary  hemming,  he  commenced  reading  in  a  grave 
didactic  tone,  that  sufficiently  showed  the  value  he 
attached  to  his  own  observations. 

"'  DejJLuied  at  ten,  as  usual,  an  hour  that  I  find  ex 
ceedingly  unreasonable  and  improper,  and  one  that 
would  meet  with  general  disapprobation  in  Ame 
rica.  .1  do  not  wonder  that  a  people  gets  to  be  im 
moral  and  depraved  in  their  practices,  who  keep 
such  improper  hours.  The  mind  acquires  habits  of 
impurity,  and  all  the  sensibilities  become  blunted,  by 
taking  the  meals  out  of  the  natural  seasons.  I  im 
pute  much  of  the  corruption  of  France  to  the  periods 
of  the  day  in  which  the  food  is  taken. — '  " 

"  Voila  une  drole  d'ldte!"  ejaculated  Mademoi 
selle  Viefville. 

"  ' — In  which  food  is  taken,'  repeated  Mr.  Dodge, 
who  fancied  the  involuntary  exclamation  was  in  ap 
probation  of  the  justice  of  his  sentiments.  « Indeed 


2B2  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

the  custom  of  taking  wine  at  this  mea],  together  with 
the  immorality  of  the  hour,  must  be  chief  reasons 
why  the  French  ladies  are  so  much  in  the  practice 
of  drinking  to  excess/  " 

"  Mais,  monsieur !" 

"  You  perceive,  mademoiselle  calls  in  question  the 
accuracy  of  your  facts,"  observed  Mr.  Blunt,  who, 
in  common  with  all  the  listeners,  Sir  George  and 
Mr.  Monday  excepted,  began  to  enjoy  a  scene  which 
at  first  had  promised  nothing  but  ennui  and  disgust. 

"  I  have  it  on  the  best  authority,  I  give  you  my 
honour,  or  I  would  not  introduce  so  grave  a  charge 
in  a  work  of  this  contemplated  importance.  I  ob 
tained  my  information  from  an  English  gentleman 
who  has  resided  twelve  years  in  Paris ;  and  he  in 
forms  me  that  a  very  large  portion  of  the  women  of 
fashion  in  that  capital,  let  them  belong  to  what  coun 
try  they  will,  are  dissipated." 

"  A  la  bonne  heure,  monsieur  ! — ?nais,  to  drink,  it  is 
very  different." 

"Not  so  much  so,  mademoiselle,  as  you  imagine," 
rejoined  John  Effingham.  "Mr.  Dodge  is  a  purist  in 
language  as  well  as  in  morals,  and  he  uses  terms  dif 
ferently  from  us  less-instructed  prattlers.  By  dissi 
pated,  he  understands  a  drunkard." 

"  Comment  /"• 

"  Certainly;  Mr.  John  Effingham,  I  presume,  will 
at  least  give  us  the  credit  in  America  of  speaking  our 
language  better  than  any  other  known  people.  l  After 
dejjunying,  took  a  phyacrv  and  rode  to  the  palace,  to 
see  the  king  and  royal  family  leave  for  Nully. — '  " 

"  Pour  oil  ?" 

"Pour  Neuilly,  mademoiselle"  Eve  quietly  an 
swered. 

" ' — For  Nully.  His  majesty  went  on  horseback, 
preceding  his  illustrious  family  and  all  the  rest  of  the 
noble  party,  dressed  in  a  red  coat,  laced  with  white 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  233 

on  the  seams,  wearing  blue  breeches  and  a  cocked 
hat.'  " 


"  '  I  made  the  king  a  suitable  republican  reverence 
as  he  passed,  which  he  answered  with  a  gracious 
smile,  and  a  benignant  glance  of  his  royal  eye, 
The  Hon.  Louis  Philippe  Orleans,  the  present  sove 
reign  of  the  French,  is  a  gentleman  of  portly  and 
commanding  appearance,  and  in  his  state  attire, 
which  he  wore  on  this  occasion,  looks  '  every  inch  a. 
king.'  He  rides  with  grace  and  dignity,  and  sets  an 
example  of  decorum  and  gravity  to  his  subjects,  by 
(he  solemnity  of  his  air,  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  will 
produce  a  beneficial  and  benign  influence  during 
this  reign,  on  the  manners  of  the  nation.  His  dig 
nity  was  altogether  worthy  of  the  schoolmaster  of 
Haddonfield.'  " 

"  Par  cxemple  /" 

"Yes,  marn'sclle,  in  the  way  of  example,  it  is  thai. 
1  mean.  Although  a  pure  democrat,  and  every  way 
opposed  to  exclusion,  I  was  particularly  struck  with 
the-  royalty  of  his  majesty's  demeanour,  and  the 
great  simplicity  of  his  whole  deportment.  I  stood 
in  the  crowd  next  to  a.  very  accomplished  countess, 
who  spoke  English,  and  she  did  me  the  honour  to  in 
vite  me  to  pay  her  a  visit  at  her  hotel,  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Bourse." 

"  Mon  Dieu  —  man  Dieu  —  mon  Dieu  /" 

"  After  promising  my  fair  companion  to  be  punc 
tual,  I  walked  as  far  as  Notter  Dam  —  " 

"  —  I  wish  Mr.  Dodge  would  be  a  little  more  dis 
tinct  in  his  names,"  said  Mademoiselle  Vicfville,  who 
had  begun  to  take  an  interest  in  the  subject,  that 
even  valueless  opinions  excite  in  us  concerning  things 
that  touch  the  affections. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  is  a  little  profane,  mademoiselle,"  ob 
served  the  captain  ;  "  but  his  journal  probably  was 
20* 


' 


234  HOMEWARD    BOCA'D, 

not  intended  for  the  ladies,  and  you  must  overlook  it, 
Well,  sir,  you  went  to  that  naughty  place — " 

"  To  Notter  Dam,  Captain  Truck,  if  you  please, 
and  I  flatter  myself  that  is  pretty  good  French." 

"  I  think,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  \ve  have  a  right  to 
insist  on  a  translation ;  for  plain  roast  and  boiled 
men,  like  Mr.  Monday  and  myself,  are  sometimes 
weeping  when  we  ought  to  laugh,  so  long  as  the  dis 
course  is  in  anything  but  old-fashioned  English.  Help 
yourself,  Mr.  Monday,  and  remember,  you  never 
drink." 

"Notter  Dam,  I  believe,  mam'selle,  means  our  Mo 
ther  ;  the  Church  of  our  Mother. — Notter,  or  Noster, 
our, — Dam,  Mother  :  Notter  Dam.  *  Here  T  was 
painfully  impressed  with  the  irreligion  of  the  struc 
ture,  and  the  general  absence  of  piety  in  the  archi 
tecture.  Idolatry  abounded  and  so  did  holy  water. 
How  often  have  I  occasion  to  bless  Providence  for 
having  made  me  one  of  the  descendants  of  those 
pious  ancestors  who  cast  their  fortunes  in  the  wilder- 
ness  in  preference  to  giving  up  their  hold  on  faith 
and  charity !  The  building  is  much  inferior  in  com 
fort  and  true  taste  to  the  commoner  American 
churches,  and  met  with  my  unqualified  disapproba 
tion.'  " 

'*  Est  il  possible  que  cela  soit  vrai,  ma  chere  !" 

"  Je  1'espere,  bien,  mademoiselle." 

"  You  may  despair  bien,  cousin  Eve,"  said  John 
Effirigham,  whose  fine  curvilinear  face  curled  even 
more  than  usual  with  contempt. 

The  ladies  whispered  a  few  explanations,  and  Mr. 
Dodge,  who  fancied  it  was  only  necessary  to  resolve 
to  be  perfect  to  achieve  hi.s  end,  went  on  with  his 
comments,  with  all  the  self-satisfaction  of  a  provin 
cial  critic. 

"'From  Notter  Dam  I  proceeded  in  a  cabrioly  to 
the  great  national  burying-ground,  Fere  la  Chaise,  so 
termed  from  the  circumstance  that  its  distance  from 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  235 

the  capital  renders  chaises  necessary  for  the  con 
voys — ' " 

t  "  How's  this,  how's  this !"  interrupted  Mr.  Truck ; 
"is  one  obliged  to  sail  under  a  convoy  about  the 
streets  of  Paris  ?" 

"  Monsieur  Dodge  vent  dire,  'convoi.  Mr.  Dodge 
mean  to  say,  conwi"  kindlv  interposed  Mademoi 
selle  Viefville. 

"  Mr.  Dodge  is  a  profound  republican,  and  is  an 
advocate  for  rotation  in  language,  as  well  as  in  of 
fice  :  I  must  accuse  you  of  inconstancy,  my  dear 
friend,  if  I  die  for  it.  You  certainly  do  not  pronounce 
your  words  always  in  the  same  way,  and  when  1 
had  the  honour  of  carrying  you  out  this  time  six 
months,  when  you  were  practising  the  continentals, 
as  you  call  them,  you  gave  very  different  sounds  to 
many  of  the  words  I  then  had  the  pleasure  and  gra 
tification  of  hearing  you  use." 

"  We  all  improve  by  travelling,  sir,  and  I  make  no 
question  that  my  knowledge  of  foreign  language  is 
considerably  enlarged  by  practice  in  the  countries  in 
which  they  are  spoken." 

Here  the  reading  of  the  journal  was  interrupted 
by  a  long  digression  on  language,  in  which  Messrs. 
Dodge,  Monday,  Templemore,  and  Truck  were  the 
principal  interlocutors,  and  during  which  the  pitcher 
of  punch  was  twice  renewed.  We  shall  not  record 
much  of  this  learned  discussion,  which  was  singu= 
larly  common-place,  though  a  few  of  the  remarks 
may  be  given  as  a  specimen  of  the  whole. 

"  I  must  be  permitted  to  say,"  replied  Mr.  Mon« 
day  to  one  of  Mr.  Dodge's  sweeping  claims  to  supe 
riority  in  favour  of  his  own  nation,  "  that  I  think  it, 
quite  extraordinary  an  Englishman  should  be  obliged 
to  go  out  of  his  own  country  in  order  to  hear  his 
own  language  spoken  in  purity,  and  as  one  who  has 
seen  your  people,  Mr.  Dodge,  I  will  venture  to  affirm 


236  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

that  nowhere  is  English  better  spoken  than  in  Lan 
cashire.     Sir  George,  I  drink  your  health  !" 

"  More  patriotic  than  just,  Mr.  Monday ;  every 
body  allows  that  the  American  of  the  eastern  states 
speaks  the  best  English  in  the  world,  and  I  think  ei 
ther  of  these  gentlemen  will  concede  that." 

'*  Under  the  penalty  of  being  nobody,"  cried  Cap 
tain  Truck ;  "  for  my  own  part,  I  think,  if  a  man 
wishes  to  hear  the  language  in  perfection,  he  ought 
to  pass  a  week  or  ten  days  in  the  river.  1  must  say, 
Mr.  Dodge,  I  object  to  many  of  your  sounds,  par 
ticularly  that  of  inyon,  which  I  myself  heard  you  call 
onion,  no  later  than  yesterday." 

"  Mr.  Monday  is  a  little  peculiar  in  fancying  that 
the  best  English  is  to  be  met  with  in  Lancashire,"  ob 
served  Sir  George  Templemore ;  "  for  I  do  assure 
you  that,  in  town,  we  have  difficulty  in  understand 
ing  gentlemen  from  your  part  of  the  kingdom." 

This  was  a  hard  cut  from  one  in  whom  Mr.  Mon 
day  expected  to  find  an  ally,  and  that  gentleman  was 
driven  to  washing  down  the  discontent  it  excited,  in 
punch. 

"  But  all  this  time  we  have  interrupted  the  convoi, 
or  convoy,  captain,"  said  Mr.  Sharp ;  "  and  Mr. 
Dodge,  to  say  nothing  of  the  mourners,  has  every 
right  to  complain.  I  beg  that  gentleman  will  pro 
ceed  with  his  entertaining  extracts." 

Mr.  Dodge  hemmed,  sipped  a  little  more  liquor, 
blew  his  nose,  and  continued  : 

"'  The  celebrated  cemetery,  is,  indeed,  worthy  of 
its  high  reputation.  The  utmost  republican  simpli 
city  prevails  in  the  interments,  ditches  being  dug  in 
which  the  bodies  are  laid,  side  by  side,  without  dis 
tinction  of  rank,  and  with  regard  only  to  the  order 
in  which  the  convoys  arrive.'  I  think  this  sentence, 
gentlemen,  will  have  great  success  in  America,  where 
the  idea  of  any  exclusiveness  is  quite  odious  to  the 
majority." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  237 

"  Well,  for  my  part,"  said  the  captain,  "  I  should 
have  no  particular  objection  to  being  excluded  from 
such  a  grave :  one  would  be  afraid  of  catching  the 
cholera  in  so  promiscuous  a  company." 

Mr.  Dodge  turned  over  a  few  leaves,  and  gave 
other  extracts. 

"  *  The  last  six  hours  have  been  devoted  to  a  pro 
found  investigation  of  the  fine  arts.  My  first  visit 
was  to  the  gullyteen ;  after  which  I  passed  an 
instructive  hour  or  two  in  the  galleries  of  the 
Musy.'— " 

"  Ou,  done  ?" 

"Le  Musde,  mademoiselle." 

•< — <  Where  I  discovered  several  very  extraordi 
nary  things,  in  the  way  of  sculpture  and  painting.  I 
was  particularly  struck  with  the  manner  in  which  a 
plate  was  portrayed  in  the  celebrated  marriage  of 
Cana,  which  might  very  well  have  been  taken  for 
real  Delft,  and  there  was  one  finger  on  the  hand  of  a 
lady  that  seemed  actually  fitted  to  receive  and  to 
retain  the  hymeneal  ring/  " 

"Did  you  inquire  if  she  were  engaged? — Mr, 
Monday,  we  will  drink  her  health." 

" '  Saint  Michael  and  the  Dragon  is  a  shefdow- 
try.—' " 

"  Un  quoi  1" 

"  Un  chef-d'oeuvre,  mademoiselle." 

" — *  The  manner  in  which  the  angel  holds  the 
dragon  with  his  feet,  looking  exactly  like  a  worm 
trodden  on  by  the  foot  of  a  child,  is  exquisitely  plain 
tive  and  interesting.  Indeed  these  touches  of  nature 
abound  in  the  works  of  the  old  masters,  and  I  saw 
several  fruit-pieces  that  I  could  have  eaten.  One 
really  gets  an  appetite  by  looking  at  many  things 
here,  and  I  no  longer  wonder  that  a  Raphael,  a  Ti 
tian,  a  Correggio,  a  Guide-o.' — " 

"Un  qui?" 

"  Un  Guido,  mademoiselle." 


238  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

"Or  a  Cooley." 

"  And  pray  who  may  he  be '?"  asked  Mr.  Monday. 

"  A  young  genius  in  Dodgetown,  who  promises  one 
day  to  render  the  name  of  an  American  illustrious. 
He  has  painted  a  new  sign  for  the  store,  that  in  its 
way  is  quite  equal  to  the  marriage  of  Cana.  '  I  have 
stood  with  tears  over  the  despair,  of  a  Niobe,'"  con 
tinuing  to  read,  "  '  and  witnessed  the  contortions  of 
the  snakes  in  the  Laocoon  with  a  convulsive  eager 
ness  to  clutch  them,  that  has  made  me  fancy  1 
could  hear  them  hiss.'  That  sentence,  I  think,  will 
be  likely  to  be  noticed  even  in  the  New-Old-New- 
Yorker,  one  of  the  very  best  reviews  of  our  days, 
gentlemen." 

"  Take  a  little  more  punch,  Mr.  Dodge,"  put  in  the 
attentive  captain ;  "  this  grows  affecting,  and  needs 
alleviation,  as  Saunders  would  say.  Mr.  Monday, 
you  will  get  a  bad  name  for  being  too  sober,  if  you 
never  ernptv  your  glass.  Proceed,  in  the  name  of 
Heaven !  Mr.  Dodge." 

"  '  In  the  evening  I  went  to  the  Grand  Opery.' — " 

"  Ou,  done  ?" 

"  Au  grand  Hoppery,  mademoiselle,"  replied  John 
Effingham. 

"  — *  To  the  Grand  Opery J  "  resumed  Mr.  Dodge, 
with  emphasis,  his  eyes  beginning  to  glisten  by  this 
time,  for  he  had  often  applied  to  the  punch  for  in 
spiration,  "  '  where  I  listened  to  music  that  is  altoge 
ther  inferior  to  that  which  we  enjoy  in  America,  es 
pecially  at  the  general  trainings,  and  on  the  Sabbath. 
The  want  of  science  was  conspicuous  ;  and  if  this 
be  music,  then  do  I  know  nothing  about  it!'" 

"A  judicious  remark!"  exclaimed  the  captain. — 
"  Mr.  Dodge  has  great  merit  as  a  writer,  for  he  loses 
no  occasion  to  illustrate  his  opinions  by  the  most  un 
answerable  facts.  He  has  acquired  a  taste  for  Zip 
Coon  and  Long  Tail  Bine,  and  it  is  no  wonder  he 
feels  a  contempt  for  your  inferior  artists," 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  239 

"  '  As  for  the  dancing,' "  continued  the  editor  of 
the  Active  Inquirer,  " '  it  is  my  decided  impression 
that  nothing  can  be  worse.  The  movement  was  more 
suited  to  a  funeral  than  the  ball-room,  and  I  affirm, 
without  fear  of  contradiction,  that  there  is  not  an 
assembly  in  all  America  in  which  a  cotillion  would 
not  be  danced  in  one-half  the  time  that  one  was 
danced  in  the  bally  to-night.'  " 

"  Dans  le  quoi  ?" 

"  I  believe  I  have  not  given  the  real  Parisian  pro 
nunciation  to  this  word^which  the  French  call  bal- 
lay"  continued  the  reader  with  great  candour. 

"  Belay,  or  make  all  fast,  as  we  say  on  ship-board. 
Mr.  Dodge,  as  master  of  this  vessel,  I  beg  to  return 
you  the  united,  or  as  Saunders  would  say,  the  con 
densed  thanks  of  the  passengers,  for  this  informa 
tion  ;  and  next  Saturday  we  look  for  a  renewal  of 
the  pleasure.  The  ladies  are  getting  to  be  sleepy,  I 
perceive,  and  as  Mr.  Monday  never  drinks  and  the 
other  gentlemen  have  finished  their  punch,  we  may 
as  well  retire,  to  get  ready  for  a  hard  day's  work  to 
morrow."' 

Captain  Truck  made  this  proposal,  because  he  saw 
that  one  or  two  of  the  party  were  plenum  punch, 
and  that  Eve  and  her  companion  were  becoming 
aware  of  the  propriety  of  retiring.  It  was  also  true 
that  he  foresaw  the  necessity  of  rest,  in  order  to  be 
ready  for  the  exertions  of  the  morning. 

After  the  party  had  broken  up,  which  it  did  very 
contrary  to  the  wishes  of  Messrs.  Dodge  and  Mon 
day,  Mademoiselle  Viefville  passed  an  hour  in  the 
state-room  of  Miss  Effingham,  during  which  time 
she  made  several  very  supererogatory  complaints  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  editor  of  the  Active  In 
quirer  had  viewed  things  in  Paris,  besides  asking  a 
good  many  curious  questions  concerning  his  occupa 
tion  and  character. 

"  I  am  not  quite  certain,  my  dear  mademoiselle, 


240  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

that  I  can  give  you  a  very  learned  description  of  the 
animal  you  think  worthy  of  all  these  questions,  but, 
by  the  aid  of  Mr.  John  Effingham's  information,  and 
a  few  words  that  have  fallen  from  Mr.  Blunt,  I  be 
lieve  it  ought  to  be  something  as  follows : — America 
once  produced  a  very  distinguished  philosopher,  nam 
ed  Franklin—" 

"Comment,  ma  chere  !  Tout  le  monde  le  con- 
nait !" 

"  — This  Monsieur  Franklin  commenced  life  as  a 
printer  ;  but  living  to  a  great  age,  and  rising  to  high 
employments,  he  became  a  philosopher  in  morals,  as 
his  studies  had  made  him  one  in  physics.  Now, 
America  is  full  of  printers,  and  most  of  them  fancy 
themselves  Franklins,  until  time  and  failures  teach 
them  discretion." 

"  Mais  the  world  has  not  seen  but  un  seul  Frank 
lin  /" 

"  Nor  is  it  likely  to  see  another  very  soon.  In 
America  the  young  men  are  taught,  justly  enough, 
that  by  merit  they  may  rise  to  the  highest  situations; 
and,  always  according  to  Mr.  John  Effingham,  too 
many  of  them  fancy  that  because  they  are  at  liberty 
to  turn  any  high  qualities  they  may  happen  to  have 
to  account,  that  they  are  actually  fit  for  anything. 
Even  he  allows  that  this  peculiarity  of  the  country 
does  much  good,  but  he  maintains  that  it  also  does 
much  harm,  by  causing  pretenders  to  start  up  in  all 
directions.  Of  this  class  he  describes  Mr.  Dodge  to 
be.  This  person,  instead  of  working  at  the  mecha 
nical  part  of  a  press,  to  which  he  was  educated,  has 
the  ambition  to  control  its  intellectual,  and  thus  edits 
the  Active  Inquirer." 

"  It  must  be  a  very  useful  journal !" 

"  It  answers  his  purposes,  most  probably.  He  is 
full  .of  provincial  ignorance,  and  provincial  preju- 
dice|^you  perceive;  and,  I  dare  say,  he  makes  his 
paper  the  circulator  of  all  these,  in  addition  to  the 


HOMEWARD   BOUND.  241 

personal  rancour,  envy,  and  uncharitableness,  that 
usually  distinguish  a  pretension  that  mistakes  itself 
for  ambition.  My  Cousin  Jack  affirms  that  America 
is  filled  with  such  as  he." 

"And,  Monsieur  Effingham?" 

"  Oh !  my  dear  father  is  all  mildness  and  chanty, 
you  know,  mademoiselle,  and  he  only  looks  at  the 
bright  side  of  the  picture,  for  he  maintains  that  a 
great  deal  of  good  results  from  the  activity  and  elas= 
ticity  of  such  a  state  of  things.  While  he  confesses 
to  a  great  deal  of  downright  ignorance  that  is  pa 
raded  as  knowledge;  to  much  narrow  intolerance 
that  is  offensively  prominent  in  the  disguise  of  prin 
ciple,  and  a  love  of  liberty ;  and  to  vulgarity  and 
personalities  that  wound  all  taste,  and  every  senti 
ment  of  right,  he  insists  on  it  that  the  main  result  is 
good." 

"  In  such  a  case  there  is  need  of  an  umpire.  You 
mentioned  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Blunt.  Comme  ce 
jeune  homme  parle  bien  Francais  !" 

Eve  hesitated,  and  she  changed  colour  slightly,  be 
fore  she  answered. 

"  I  am  not  certain  that  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Blunt 
ought  to  be  mentioned  in  opposition  to  those  of  my 
father  and  Cousin  Jack,  on  such  a  subject,"  she  said, 
"  He  is  very  young,  and  it  is,  now,  quite  questionable 
whether  he  is  even  an  American  at  all." 

"  Tant  mieux,  ma  chere.  He  has  been  much  in 
the  country,  and  it  is  not  the  native  that  makes  the 
best  judge,  when  the  stranger  has  many  opportuni= 
ties  of  seeing." 

"  On  this  principle,  mademoiselle,  you  are,  then,  to 
give  up  your  own  judgment  about  France,  on  all 
those  points  in  which  I  have  the  misfortune  to  differ 
from  you,"  said  Eve  laughing. 

"  Pas  tout  a  fait"  returned  the  governess,  good- 
humouredly.  "  Age  and  experience  must  pass  pour 
quelque  chose,  Et  Monsieur  Blunt  ? — " 

VOL.  i,  21 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,        - 

"Monsieur  Blunt  leans  nearer  to  the  side  of  Cousin 
Jack,  I  fear,  than  to  that  of  my  dear,  dear  father. 
He  says  men  of  Mr.  Dodge's  character,  propensi 
ties,  malignancy,  intolerance,  ignorance,  vulgarity, 
and  peculiar  vices  abound  in  and  about  the  Ameri 
can  press.  He  even  insists  that  they  do  an  incalcu 
lable  amount  of  harm,  by  influencing  those  who 
have  no  better  sources  of  information ;  by  setting  up 
low  jealousies  and  envy  in  the  place  of  principles 
and  the  right ;  by  substituting, — I  USQ  his  own  words, 
mademoiselle,"  said  Eve,  blushing  with  the  con 
sciousness  of  the  fidelity  of  her  memory — "  by  sub 
stituting  uninstructed  provincial  notions  for  true  taste 
and  liberality  ;  by  confounding  the  real  principles  of 
liberty  with  personal  envies,  and  the  jealousies  of 
station ;  and  by  losing  sight  entirely  of  their  duties 
to  the  public,  in  the  effort  to  advance  their  own  inte 
rests.  He  says  that  the  government  is  in  truth  a 
press-ocmcy,  and  a  press-ocracy,  too,  that  has  not 
-the  redeeming  merit  of  either  principles,  tastes,  ta 
lents  or  knowledge." 

"  Ce  Monsieur  Blunt  has  been  very  explicit,  and 
suffisamment  eloquent"  returned  Mademoiselle  Vief- 
ville,  gravely ;  for  the  prudent  governess  did  not  fail 
to  observe  that  Eve  used  language  so  very  different 
from  that  which  was  habitual  to  her,  as  to  make  her 
suspect  she  quoted  literally.  For  the  first  time  the 
suspicion  was  painfully  awakened,  that  it  was  her 
duty  to  be  more  vigilant  in  relation  to  the  intercourse 
between  her  charge  and  the  two  agreeable  young 
men  whom  accident  had  given  them  as  fellow-pas 
sengers.  After  a  short  but  musing  pause,  she  again 
adverted  to  the  subject  of  their  previous  conversa 
tion. 

"  Ce  Monsieur  Dodge,  est.  il  ridicule !" 

"  On  that  point  at  least,  my  dear  mademoiselle, 

ere  can  be  no  mistake.     And  vet  Cousin  Jack  in- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  243 

sists  that  this  stuff  will  be  given  to  his  readers,  as 
views  of  Europe  worthy  of  their  attention. 
"  Ce  conte  du  roi ! — mais,  c'est  trop  fort !" 
"  With  the  coat  laced  at  the  seams,  and  the  cock 
ed  hat  !" 

"  Et  Thonorable  Louis  Philippe  d'Orteans  !" 
"  Orleans,  mademoiselle  ;  d'Orleans  would  be  anti- 
republican." 

Then  the  two  ladies  sat  looking  at  each  other  a 
few  moments  in  silence,  when  both,  although  of  a 
proper  retenue  of  manner  in  general,  burst  into  a 
hearty  and  long-continued  fit  of  laughter.  Indeed, 
so  long  did  Eve,  in  the  buoyancy  of  her  young  spi 
rits,  and  her  keen  perception  of  the  ludicrous,  indulge 
herself,  that  her  fair  hair  fell  about  her  rosy  cheeks, 
and  her  bright  eyes  fairly  danced  with  delight. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


And  there  he  went  ashore  without  delay, 
Having1  no  custom-house  or  quarantine, — 
To  ask  him  awkward  questions  on  the  way 
About  the  time  and  place  where  he  had  been. 

Brnox. 


CAPTAIN  TRUCK  was  in  a  sound  sleep  as  soon  as 
his  head  touched  the  pillow.  With  the  exception  of 
the  ladies,  the  others  soon  followed  his  example;  and 
as  the  people  were  excessively  wearied,  and  the  night 
was  so  tranquil,  ere  long  only  a  single  pair  of  eyes 
were  open  on  deck  :  those  of  the  man  at  the  wheel. 
The  wind  died  away,  and  even  this  worthy  was  not 
innocent  of  nodding  at  his  post. 

Under  such  circumstances,  it  will  occasion  no 
great  surprise  that  the  cabin  was  aroused  next  morn- 


244  HOMEWARD    LOU  A  I,. 

ing  with  th6  sudden  and  startling  information  that 
the  land  was  close  aboard  the  ship,  Every  one  hur 
ried  on  deck,  where,  sure  enough,  the  dreaded  coast 
of  Africa  was  seen,  with  a  palpable  distinctness, 
within  two  miles  of  the  vessel.  It  presented  a  long 
broken  line  of  sand-hills,  unrelieved  by  a  tree,  or  by 
so  few  as  almost  to  merit  this  description,  and  with 
a  hazy  back-ground  of  remote  mountains  to  the  north 
east.  The  margin  of  the  actual  coast  nearest  to  the 
ship  was  indented  with  bays;  and  even  rocks  ap 
peared  in  places ;  but  the  general  character  of  the 
scene  was  that  of  a  fierce  and  burning  sterility.  On 
this  picture  of  desolation  all  stood  gazing  in  awe 
and  admiration  for  some  minutes,  as  the  day  gra 
dually  brightened,  until  a  cry  arose  from  forward,  of 
"a  ship!" 

"  Whereaway  ?"  sternly  demanded  Captain  Truck; 
for  the  sudden  and  unexpected  appearance  of  this 
dangerous  coast  had  awakened  all  that  was  forbid 
ding  and  severe  in  the  temperament  of  the  old  mas 
ter;  "  whereaway,  sir?" 

"  On  the  larboard  quarter,  sir,  and  at  anchor." 

"She  is  ashore!"  exclaimed. half-a-dozen  voices  at 
the  same  instant,  just  as  the  words  came  from  the  last 
speaker.  The  glass  soon  settled  this  important  point. 
At  the  distance  of  about  a  league  astern  of  them 
were,  indeed,  to  be  seen  the  spars  of  a  ship,  with  the 
hull  looming  on  the  sands,  in  a  way  to  leave  no 
doubt  of  her  being  a  wreck.  It  was  the  first  impres 
sion  of  all,  that  this,  at  last,  was  the  Foam  ;  but  Cap 
tain  Truck  soon  announced  the  contrary. 

"  It  is  a  Swede,  or  a  Dane,"  he  said,*  "  by  his  rig 
and  his  model.  A  stout,  solid,  compact  sea-boat, 
that  is  high  and  dry  on  the  sands,  looking  as  if  he 
had  been  built  there.  He  does  not  appear  even  to 
have  bilged,  and  most  of  his  sails,  and  all  of  his 
yards,  are  in  their  places.  Not  a  living  soul  is  -to  be 
seen  about  her!  Ha!  there  are  signs  of  tents  made 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  245 

of  sails  on  shore,  and  broken  bales  of  goods  !  Her 
people  have  been  seized  and  carried  into  the  desert, 
as  usual,  and  this  is  a  fearful  hint  that  we  must  keep 
the  Montauk  off  the  bottom.  Turn-to  the  people, 
Mr.  Leach,  and  get  tip  your  sheers  that  we  may  step 
our  jury-masts  at  once  ;  the  smallest  breeze  on  the 
land  would  drive  us  ashore,  without  any  after-sail." 

While  the  mates  and  the  crew  set  about  complet 
ing  the  work  they  had  prepared  the  previous  day, 
Captain  Truck  and  his  passengers  passed  the  time  in 
ascertaining  all  they  could  concerning  the  wreck, 
and  the  reasons  of  their  being  themselves  in  a  posi 
tion  so  very  different  from  what  they  had  previously 
believed. 

As  respects  the  first,  little  more  could  be  ascer 
tained;  she  lay  absolutely  high  and  dry  on  a  hard 
sandy  beach,  where  she  had  probably  been  cast  dur 
ing  the  late  gale,  and  sufficient  signs  were  made  out 
by  the  captain,  to  prove  to  him  that  she  had  been 
partly  plundered.  More  than  this  could  not  be  dis 
covered  at  that  distance,  and  the  work  of  the  Mon 
tauk  was  too  urgent  to  send  a  boat  manned  with  her 
own  people  to  examine.  Mr.  Blunt,  Mr.  Sharp, 
Mr.  Monday,  and  the  servants  of  the  two  former, 
however,  volunteering  to  pull  the  cutter,  it  was  finally 
decided  to  look  more  closely  into  the  facts,  Captain 
Truck  himself  taking  charge  of  the  expedition. — 
While  the  latter  is  getting  ready,  a  word  of  explana 
tion  will  suffice  to  tell  the  reader  the  reason  why  the 
Montauk  had  fallen  so  much  to  leeward. 

The  ship  being  so  near  the  coast,  it  became  now 
very  obvious  she  was  driven  by  a  current  that  set 
along  the  land,  but  which,  it  was  probable,  had  set 
towards  it  more  in  the  offing.  The  imperceptible 
drift  between  the  observation  of  the  previous  day 
and  the  discovery  of  the  coast,  had  sufficed  to  carry 
the  vessel  a  great  distance ;  and  to  this  simple  cause, 
coupled  perhaps  with  some  neglect  in  the  steerage 
21* 


246  »        'HOMEWARD  BOUND. 

during  the  past  night,  was  her  present  situation  to  be 
solely  attributed.  Just  at  this  moment,  the  little  air 
there  was  came  from  the  land,  and  by  keeping  her 
head  off  shore,  Captain  Truck  entertained  no  doubt 
of  his  being  able  to  escape  the  calamity  that  had  be 
fallen  the  other  ship  in  the  fury  of  the  gale.  A  wreck 
is  always  a  matter  of  so  much  interest  with  mari 
ners,  therefore,  that  taking  all  these  things  into 
view,  he  had  come  to  the  determination  \ve  have 
mentioned,  of  examining  into  the  history  of  the  onu 
in  sight,  so  far  as  circumstances  permitted. 

The  Montauk  carried  three  boats:  the  launch,  a 
large?  safe,  and  well-constructed  craft,  which  stood 
in  the  usual  chucks  between  the  foremast  and  main 
mast  ;  a  jolly-boat,  and  a  cutter.  It  was  next  to  im 
possible  to  get  the  first  into  the  water,  deprived  at; 
the  ship  was  of  its  mainmast,  but  the  others  hanging 
at  davits,  one  on  each  quarter,  were  easily  lowered. 
The  packets  seldom  carry  any  arms,  beyond  a  light 
gun  to  fire  signals  with,  the  pistols  of  the  master, 
and  perhaps  a  fowling-piece  or  two.  Luckily  the 
passengers  were  better  provided :  all  the  gentlemen 
had  pistols,  Mr.  Monday  and  Mr.  Dodge  excepted, 
if  indeed  they  properly  belonged  to  this  category,  as 
Captain  Truck  would  say,  and  most  of  them  had 
also  fowling  pieces.  Although  a  careful  examina 
tion  of  the  coast  with  the  glasses  offered  no  signs  of 
the  presence  of  any  danger  from  enemies,  these 
arms  were  all  carefully  collected,  loaded,  and  depo 
sited  in  the  boats,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  the 
worst.  Provisions  and  water  were  also  provided, 
and  the  party  were  about  to  proceed. 

Captain  Truck  and  one  or  two  of  the  adventurers 
were  still  on  the  deck,  when  Eve,  with  that  strange 
love  of  excitement  and  adventure  that  often  visits 
the  most  delicate  spirits,  expressed  an  idle  regret 
that  she  could  not  make  one  in  the  expedition. 

"  There  is  some  thing  so  strange  and  wild  in  land- 


HOMEWARD    EGUiVD.  247 

ing  on  an  African  desert,"  she  said  ;  "  and  I  think  a 
near  view  of  the  wreck  would  repay  us,  mademoi 
selle,  for  the  hazard." 

The  young  men  hesitated  between  their  desire  to 
have  such  a  companion,  and  their  doubts  of  the  pru^ 
dence  of  the  step  ;  but  Captain  Truck  declared  there 
could  be  no  risk,  and  Mr.  Effingham  consenting,  the 
whole  plan  was  altered  so  as  to  include  the  ladies  ; 
for  there  was  so  much  pleasure  in  varying  the  mo 
notony  of  a  calm,  and  escaping  the  confinement  of 
ship,  that  everybody  entered  into  the  new  arrange 
ment  with  zeal  and  spirit. 

A  single  whip  was  rigged  on  the  fore-yard,  a  chair 
was  slung,  and  in  ten  minutes  both  ladies  were  float 
ing  on  the  ocean  in  the  cutter.  This  boat  pulled  six 
oars,  which  were  manned  by  the  servants  of  the  two 
Messrs.  Effinghams,  Mr.  Blunt  and  Mr.  Sharp,  toge 
ther  with  the  two  latter  gentlemen  in  person,  Mr, 
Effingham  steered.  Captain  Truck  had  the  jolly- 
boat,  of  which  he  pulled  an  oar  himself,  aided  by 
Saunders,  Mr.  Monday,  and  Sir  George  Temple- 
more ;  the  mates  and  the  regular  crew  being  actively 
engaged  in  rigging  their  jury-mast.  Mr.  Dodge  de 
clined  being  of  the  party,  feeding  himself  with  the 
hope  that  the  present  would  be  a  favourable  occa 
sion  to  peep  into  the  state-rooms,  to  run  his  eye  over 
forgotten  letters  and  papers,  and  otherwise  to  in 
crease  the  general  stock  of  information  of  the  Qdi- 
tor  of  the  Active  Inquirer. 

"  Look  to  your  chains,  and  see  all  clear  for  a  run 
of  the  anchors,  Mr.  Leach,  should  you  drift  within 
a  mile  of  the  shore,"  called  out  the  captain,  as  they 
pulled  off  from  the  vessel's  side.  "  The  ship  is  drift 
ing  along  the  land,  but  the  wind  you  have  will  hardly 
do  more  than  meet  the  send  of  the  sea,  which  is  on 
shore :  should  any  thing  go  wrong,  show  an  ensign 
at  the  head  of  the"  jury-stick  forward." 

The  mate  waved  his  hand,  and  the  adventurers 


248  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

passed  away  without  the  sound  of  the  voice.  It  was 
a  strange  sensation  to  most  of  those  in  the  boats,  to 
find  themselves  in  their  present  situation.  Eve  and 
Mademoiselle  Viefville,  in  particular,  could  scarcely 
credit  their  senses,  when  they  found  the  egg-shells 
that  held  them  heaving  and  setting  like  bubbles  on 
those  long  sluggish  swells,  which  had  seemed  of  so 
little  consequence  while  in  the  ship,  but  which  now 
resembled  the  heavy  respirations  of  a  leviathan. 
The  boats,  indeed,  though  always  gliding  onward, 
impelled  by  the  oars,  appeared  at  moments  to  be 
sent  helplessly  back  and  forth,  like  playthings  of  the 
mighty  deep,  and  it  was  some  minutes  before  either 
obtained  a  sufficient  sense  of  security  to  enjoy  her 
situation.  As  they  receded  fast  from  the  Montauk, 
too,  their  situation  seemed  still  more  critical;  and 
with  all  her  sex's  love  of  excitement,  Eve  heartily  re 
pented  of  her  undertaking  before  they  had  gone  a 
mile.  The  gentlemen,  however,  were  all  in  good 
spirits,  and  as  the  boats  kept  near  each  other,  Cap 
tain  Truck  enlivening  their  way  with  his  peculiar 
wit,  and  Mr.  Effingham,  who  was  influenced  by  a 
motive  of  humanity  in  consenting  to  come,  being 
earnest  and  interested,  Eve  soon  began  to  entertain 
other  ideas. 

As  they  drew  near  the  end  of  their  little  expedi 
tion,  entirely  new  feelings  got  the  mastery  over  the 
whole  party.  The  solitary  and  gloomy  grandeur  of 
the  coasts,  the  sublime  sterility, — for  even  naked 
sands  may  become  sublime  by  their  vastness, — the 
heavy  moanings  of  the  ocean  on  the  beach,  and  the 
entire  spectacle  of  the  solitude,  blended  as  it  was 
with  the  associations  of  Africa,  time,  and  the  changes 
of  history,  united  to  produce  sensations  of  a  pleas 
ing  melancholy.  The  spectacle  of  the  ship,  bring 
ing  with  it  the  images  of  European  civilization,  as  it 
lay  helpless  and  deserted  on  the  sands,  too,  heighten 
ed  the  effect  of  all. 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  249 

This  vessel,  beyond  all  question^  had  been  driven 
up  on  a  sea  during  the  late  gale,  at  a  point  where  the 
water  was  of  sufficient  depth  to  float  her,  until  with 
in  a  few  yards  of  the  very  spot  where  she  now  lay; 
Captain  Truck  giving  the  following  probable  history 
of  the  affair, 

"  On  all  sandy  coasts;57  he  said,  "  the  return  waves 
that  are  cast  on  the  beach  form  a  bar,  by  washing 
back  with  them  a  portion  of  the  particles.  This  bar 
is  usually  within  thirty  or  forty  fathoms  of  the  shore, 
and  there  is  frequently  sufficient  water  within  it  to 
float  a  ship.  As  this  bar,  however,  prevents  the  re 
turn  of  all  the  water,  on  what  is  called  the  under 
tow,  narrow  channels  make  from  point  to  point, 
through  which  this  excess  of  the  element  escapes, 
These  channels  are  known  by  the  appearance  of  the 
water  over  them,  the  seas  breaking  less  at  those  par 
ticular  places  than  in  the  spots  where  the  bottom  lies 
nearer  to  the  surface,  and  all  experienced  mariners 
are  aware  of  the  fact.  No  doubt,  the  unfortunate 
master  of  this  ship,  finding  himself  reduced  to  the 
necessity  of  running  ashore  to  save  the  lives  of  his 
crew,  has  chosen  such  a  place,  and  has  consequently 
forced  his  vessel  up  to  a  spot  where  she  has  remain 
ed  dry  as  soon  as  the  sea  fell.  So  worthy  a  fellow 
deserved  a  better  fate;  for  this  wreck  is  not  three 
days  old,  and  yet  no  signs  are  to  be  seen  of  any  who 
were  in  that  stout  ship." 

These  remarks  were  made  as  the  crew  of  the  two 
boats  lay  on  their  oars,  at  a  short  distance  without 
the  line  on  the  water,  where  the  breaking  of  the  sea 
pointed  out  the  position  of  the  bar.  The  channel, 
also,  was  plainly  visible  directly  astern  of  the  ship, 
the  sea  merely  rising  and  falling  in  it  without  comb 
ing.  A  short  distance  to  the  southward  a  few  bold 
black  rocks  thrust  themselves  forward,  and  formed  a 
sort  of  bay,  in  which  it  was  practicable  to  land  with 
out  risk  ;  for  they  had  come  on  the  coast  in  a  region 


250  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

where  the  monotony  of  the  sands,  as  it  appeared 
when  close  in,  was  little  relieved  by  the  presence  of 
anything  else. 

"  If  you  will  keep  the  cutter  just  without  the  break 
ers,  Mr.  Effingham,"  Captain  Truck  continued,  after 
standing  up  awhile  and  examining  the  shore,  "  I  will 
pull  into  the  channel,  and  land  in  yonder  bay.  If  you 
feel  disposed  to  follow,  you  may  do  so  by  giving  the 
tiller  to  Mr.  Blunt,  on  receiving  a  signal  to  that  ef 
fect  from  me.  Be  steady,  gentlemen,  at  your  oars, 
and  look  well  to  the  arms  on  landing,  for  we  are  in  a 
knavish  part  of  the  world.  Should  any  of  the  mon 
keys  or  ourang-ou tangs  claim  kindred  with  Mi'. 
Saunders,  we  may  find  it  no  easy  matter  to  persuade 
them  to  leave  us  the  pleasure  of  his  society." 

The  captain  made  a  sign,  and  the  jolly  boat  enter 
ed  the  channel.  Inclining  south,  it  was  seen  rising 
and  falling  just  within  the  breakers,  and  then  it  was 
hid  by  the  rocks.  In  another  minute,  Mr.  Truck, 
followed  by  all  but  Mr.  Monday,  who  stood  sentinel 
at  the  boat,  was  on  the  rocks,  making  his  way  to 
wards  the  wreck.  On  reaching  the  latter,  he  as 
cended  swiftly  even  to  the  main  cross-trees.  Here  a 
long  examination  of  the  plain,  beyond  the  bank  that 
hid  it  from  the  view  of  all  beneath,  succeeded,  and 
then  the  signal  to  come  on  was  made  to  those  who 
were  still  in  the  boat. 

"  Shall  we  venture  ?"  cried  Paul  Blunt,  soliciting 
an  assent  by  the  very  manner  in  which  he  put  the 
question. 

"What  say  you,  dear  father?" 

"  I  hope  we  may  not  yet  be  too  late  to  succour 
some  Christian  in  distress,  my  child.  Take  the  til 
ler,  Mr.  Blunt,  and  in  Heaven's  good  name,  and  for 
humanity's  sake,  let  us  proceed!" 

The  boat  advanced,  Paul  Blunt  standing  erect  to 
steer,  his  ardour  to  proceed  corrected  by  apprehen 
sions  on  account  of  her  precious  freight.  There  was 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  251 

an  instant  when  the  ladies  trembled,  for  it  seemed  as 
if  the  light  boat  was  about  to  be  cast  upon  the  shore, 
like  the  froth  of  the  sea  that  shot  past  them  ;  but  the 
steady  hand  of  him  who  steered  averted  the  danger, 
and  in  another  minute  they  were  floating  at  the  side 
of  the  jolly-boat.  The  ladies  got  ashore  without 
much  difficulty,  and  stood  on  the  summit  of  the 
rocks. 

"  Nous  voici  done,  en  Afrique,"  exclaimed  Made 
moiselle  Viefville,  with  that  sensation  of  singularity 
that  comes  over  all  when  they  first  find  themselves 
in  situations  of  extraordinary  novelty. 

"  The  wreck — the  wreck,"  murmured  Eve  ;  "  let 
us  go  to  the  wreck.  There  may  be  a  hope  of  yet 
saving  some  wretched  sufferer/' 

Toward  the  wreck  they  all  proceeded,  after  leav 
ing  two  of  the  servants  to  relieve  Mr.  Monday  on 
his  watch. 

It  was  an  impressive  thing  to  stand  at  the  side  of 
a  ship  on  the  sands  of  Africa,  'a  scene  in  which  the 
desolation  of  an  abandoned  vessel  was  heightened 
by  the  desolation  of  a  desert.  The  position  of  the 
vessel,  which  stood  nearly  erect,  imbedded  in  the 
sands,  rendered  it  less  difficult  than  might  be  suppos 
ed  for  the  ladies  to  ascend  to,  and  to  walk  her  decks, 
a  rude  staging  having  been  made  already  to  facili 
tate  the  passage.  Here  the  scene  became  thrice  ex 
citing,  for  it  was  the  very  type  of  a  hastily  deserted 
and  cherished  dwelling. 

Before  Eve  and  Mademoiselle  Viefville  gained  the 
deck,  the  other  party  had  ascertained  that  no  living 
soul  remained.  The  trunks,  chests,  furniture,  and 
other  appliances  of  the  cabin,  had  been  rummaged, 
and  many  boxes  had  been  raised  from  the  hold,  and 
plundered,  a  part  of  their  contents  still  lying  scatter 
ed  on  the  decks.  The  ship,  however,  had  been  lightly 
freighted,  and  the  bulk  of  her  cargo,  which  was  salt, 
was  apparently  untouched.  A  Danish  ensign  was 


252  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

found  bent  to  the  halyards,  a  proof  that  Captain 
Truck's  original  conjecture  concerning  the  charac 
ter  of  the  vessel  was  accurate.  Her  name,  too,  was 
ascertained  to  be  the  Carrier,  as  translated  into 
English,  and  she  belonged  to  Copenhagen.  More 
than  this  it  was  not  easy  to  ascertain.  No  papers 
were  found,  and  her  cargo,  or  as  much  of  it  as  re 
mained,  was  so  mixed,  and  miscellaneous,  as  Saun- 
ders  called  it,  that  no  plausible  guess  could  be  given 
as  to  the  port  where  it  had  been  taken  in,  if  indeed 
it  had  all  been  received  on  board  at  the  same  place. 

Several  of  the  light  sails  had  evidently  been  car 
ried  off,  but  all  the  heavy  canvass  was  left  on  the 
yards  which  remained  in  their  places.  The  vessel 
was  large,  exceedingly  strong,  as  was  proved  by  the 
fact  that  she  had  not  bilged  in  beaching,  and  appar 
ently  well  found.  Nothing  was  wanting  to  launch 
her  into  the  ocean  but  machinery  and  force,  and  a 
crew  to  sail  her,  when  she  might  have  proceeded  on 
her  voyage  as  if  nothing  unusual  had  occurred.  But 
such  a  restoration  was  hopeless,  and  this  admirable 
machine,  like  a  man  cut  off  in  his  youth  and  vigour, 
had  been  cast  upon  the  shores  of  this  inhospitable  re- 
gion,  to  moulder  where  it  lay,  unless  broken  up  for 
the  wood  and  iron  by  the  wanderers  of  the  desert. 

There  was  no  object  more  likely  to  awaken  me 
lancholy  ideas  in  a  mind  resembling  that  of  Captain 
Truck's  than  a  spectacle  of  this  nature.  A  fine  ship, 
complete  in  nearly  all  her  parts,  virtually  uninjured, 
and,  yet  beyond  the  chance  of  further  usefulness,  in 
his  eyes  was  a  picture  of  the  most  cruel  loss.  He 
cared  less  for  the  money  it  had  cost  than  for  the  qua* 
lities  and  properties  that  were  thus  destroyed. 

He  examined  the  bottom,  which  he  pronounced 
capital  for  stowing,  and  excellent  as  that  of  a  sea- 
boat  ;  he  admired  the  fastenings ;  applied  his  knife 
to  try  the  quality  of  the  wood,  and  pronounced  the 
Norway  pine  of  the  spars  to  be  almost  equal  to  any- 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  253 

thing  that  could  be  found  in  our  own  southernwoods, 
The  rigging,  too,  he  regarded  as  one  loves  to  linger 
over  the  regretted  qualities  of  a  deceased  friend. 

The  tracks  of  camels  and  horses  were  abundant 
on  the  sands  around  the  ship,  and  especially  at  the 
bottom  of  the  rude  staging  by  which  the  party  had 
ascended,  and  which  had  evidently  been  hastily 
made  in  order  to  carry  articles  from  the  vessel  to 
the  backs  of  the  animals  that  were  to  bear  them 
into  the  desert.  The  foot-prints  of  men  were  also 
to  be  seen,  and  there  was  a  startling  and  mournful 
certainty  in  distinguishing  the  marks  of  shoes  as  well 
as  those  of  the  naked  foot. 

Judging  from  all  these  signs,  Captain  Truck  was 
of  opinion  the  wreck  must  have  taken  place  but  two 
or  three  days  before,  and  that  the  plunderers  had 
not  left  the  spot  many  hours. 

"  They  probably  went  off  with  what  they  could 
carry  at  sunset  last  evening,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  before  many  days,  they,  or  others  in  their 
places,  will  be  back  again.  God  protect  the  poor 
fellows  who  have  fallen  into  this  miserable  bondage ! 
What  an  occasion  would  there  now  be  to  rescue 
one  of  them,  should  he  happen  to  be  hid  near  this 
spot!" 

The  idea  seized  the  whole  party  at  once,  and  all 
eagerly  turned  to  examine  the  high  bank,  which  rose 
nearly  to  the  summit  of  the  masts,  in  the  hope  of 
discovering  some  concealed  fugitive.  The  gentle 
men  went  below  again,  and  Mr.  Sharp  and  Mr.  Blunt 
called  out  in  German,  and  English,  and  French,  to 
invite  any  one  who  might  be  secreted  to  come  forth, 
No  sound  answered  these  friendly  calls,  Again  Cap 
tain  Truck  went  aloft  to  look  into  the  interior,  but 
he  beheld  nothing  more  than  the  broad  and  unpeo 
pled  desert, 

A  place  where  the  camels  had  descended  to  the 
beach  was  at  no  great  distance,  and  thither  most  of 

VOL.  i.  22 


25i  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

the  party  proceeded,  mounting  to  the  level  of  the 
plain  beyond.  In  this  little  expedition,  Paul  Blunt 
led  the  advance,  and  as  he  rose  over  the  brow  of  the 
bank,  he  cocked  both  barrels  of  his  fowling-piece, 
uncertain  what  might  be  encountered.  They  found, 
however,  a  silent  waste,  almost  without  vegetation, 
and  nearly  as  trackless  as  the  ocean  that  lay  behind 
them.  At  the  distance  of  a  hundred  rods  an  object 
was  just  discernible,  lying  on  the  plain  half-buried  in 
sand,  and  thither  the  young  men  expressed  a  wish  to 
go,  first  calling  to  those  in  the  ship  to  send  a  man 
aloft  to  give  the  alarm,  in  the  event  of  any  party  of 
the  Mussulmans  being  seen.  Mr.  Effingham,  too,  on 
being  told  their  intention,  had  the  precaution  to  cause 
Eve  and  Mademoiselle  Viefville  to  get  into  the  cut 
ter,  which  he  manned,  and  caused  to  pull  out  over 
the  bar,  where  she  lay  waiting  the  issue. 

A  camel's  path,  of  which  the  tracks  were  nearly 
obliterated  by  the  sands,  led  to  the  object,  and  after 
toiling  along  it,  the  adventurers  soon  reached  the  de 
sired  spot.  It  proved  to  be  the  body  of  a  man  who 
had  died  by  violence.  His  dress  and  person  denot 
ed  that  of  a  passenger  rather  than  that  of  a  sea 
man,  and  he  had  evidently  been  dead  but  a  very  few 
hours,  probably  not  twelve.  The  cut  of  a  sabre  had 
cleft  his  skull.  Agreeing  not  to  acquaint  the  ladies 
with  this  horrible  discovery,  the  body  was  hastily 
covered  with  the  sand,  the  pockets  of  the  dead  man 
having  been  first  examined  ;  for,  contrary  to  usage, 
his  person  had  not  been  stripped.  A  letter  was  found, 
written  by  a  wife  to  her  husband,  and  nothing  more. 
It  was  in  German,  and  its  expressions  and  contents, 
though  simple,  were  endearing  and  natural.  It  spoke 
of  the  traveller's  return ;  for  she  who  wrote  it  little 
thought  of  the  miserable  fate  that  awaited  her  be 
loved  in  this  remote  desert. 

As  nothing  else  was  visible,  the  party  returned 
hastily  to  the  beach,  where  they  found  that  Captain 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  255 

Truck  had  ended  his  investigations,  and  was  impa 
tient  to  return.  In  the  interest  of  the  scene  the  Mon- 
tauk  had  disappeared  behind  a  headland,  towards 
which  she  had  been  drifting  when  they  left  her.  Her 
absence  created  a  general  sense  of  loneliness,  and 
the  whole  party  hastened  into  the  jolly-boat,  as  if 
fearful  of  being  left.  When  without  the  bar  again, 
the  cutter  took  in  her  proper  crew,  and  the  boats 
pulled  away,  leaving  the  Dane  standing  on  the  beach 
in  his  solitary  desolation — a  monument  of  his  own 
disaster. 

As  they  got  further  from  the  land  the  Montauk 
came  in  sight  again,  and  Captain  Truck  announced 
the  agreeable  intelligence  that  the  jury  mainmast  was 
up,  and  that  the  ship  had  after-sail  set,  diminutive 
and  defective  as  it  might  be.  Instead  of  heading  to 
the  southward,  however,  as  heretofore,  Mr.  Leach 
was  apparently  endeavouring  to  get  back  again  to 
the  northward  of  the  headland  that  had  shut  in  the 
ship,  or  was  trying  to  retrace  his  steps.  Mr.  Truck 
rightly  judged  that  this  was  proof  his  mate  disliked 
the  appearance  of  the  coast  astern  of  him,  and  that 
he  was  anxious  to  get  an  offing.  The  captain  in  con 
sequence  urged  his  men  to  row,  and  in  little  more 
than  an  hour  the  whole  party  were  on  the  deck  of 
the  Montauk  again,  and  the  boats  were  hanging  at 
the  davits. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

I  boarded  the  king's  ship;  now  on  the  beak, 
Now  in  the  waist,  the  deck,  in  every  cabin, 
I  flam'd  amazement. 

Tempest. 

IF  Captain  Truck  distrusted  the  situation  of  his 
own  ship  when  he  saw  that  the  mate  had  changed 


256  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

her  course,  he  liked  it  still  less  after  he  was  on  board, 
and  had  an  opportunity  to  form  a  more  correct  judg 
ment.  The  current  had  set  the  vessel  not  only  to 
the  southward,  but  in-shore,  and  the  send  of  the 
ground-swell  was  gradually,  but  inevitably,  heaving 
her  in  towards  the  land.  At  this  point  the  coast  was 
more  broken  than  at  the  spot  where  the  Dane  had 
been  wrecked,  some  signs  of  trees  appearing,  and 
rocks  running  off  in  irregular  reefs  into  the  sea. 
More  to  the  south,  these  rocks  were  seen  without  the 
ship,  while  directly  astern  they  were  not  half  a  mile 
distant.  Still  the  wind  was  favourable,  though  light 
and  baffling,  and  Mr.  Leach  had  got  up  every  stitch 
of  canvass  that  circumstances  would  at  all  allow ; 
the  lead,  too,  had  been  tried,  and  the  bottom  was 
found  to  be  a  hard  sand  mixed  with  rocks,  and  the 
depth  of  the  water  such  as  to  admit  of  anchoring. 
It  was  a  sign  that  Captain  Truck  did  not  absolutely 
despair  after  ascertaining  all  these  facts,  that  he 
caused  Mr.  Saunders  to  be  summoned  ;  for  as  yet, 
none  of  those  who  had  been  in  the  boats  had  break 
fasted. 

"  Step  this  way,  Mr.  Steward,"  said  the  captain; 
'*  and  report  the  state  of  the  coppers.  You  were 
rummaging,  as  usual,  among  the  lockers  of  yonder 
unhappy  Dane,  and  I  desire  to  know  what  discove 
ries  you  have  made!  You  will  please  to  recollect, 
that  on  all  public  expeditions  of  this  nature,  there 
must  be  no  peculation  or  private  journal  kept.  Did 
you  see  any  stock-fish  ?' 

"  Sir,  I  should  deem  this  ship  disgraced  by  the  ad 
mission  into  her  pantry  of  such  an  article,  sir.  We 
have  tongues  and  sounds  in  plenty,  Captain  Truck, 
and  no  gentleman  that  has  such  diet,  need  ambition 
a  stock-fish  ?' 

"  I  am  quite  of  your  way  of  thinking ;  but  the 
earth  is  not  made  of  stock-fish.  Did  you  happen  to 
fall  in  with  any  butter  ?" 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  257 

"  Some,  sir,  that  is  scarcely  fit  to  slush  a  mast 
with,  and  I  do  think,  one  of  the  most  atrocious 
cheeses,  sir,  it  was  ever  my  bad  fortune  to  meet 
with.  I  do  not  wonder  the  Africans  left  the  wreck." 

"  You  followed  their  example,  of  course,  Mr. 
Saunders,  and  left  the  cheese." 

"I  followed  my  own  judgment,  sir,  for  I  would 
not  stay  in  a  ship  with  such  a  cheese,  Captain  Truck, 
sir,  even  to  have  the  honour  of  serving  under  so 
great  a  commander  as  yourself.  I  think  it  no  won 
der  that  vessel  was  wrecked!  Even  the  sharks 
would  abandon  her.  The  very  thoughts  of  her  im 
purities,  sir,  makes  me  feel  unsettled  in  the  sto 
mach." 

The  captain  nodded  his  head  in  approbation  of 
this  sentiment,  called  for  a  coal,  and  then  ordered 
breakfast.  The  meal  was  silent,  thoughtful,  and  even 
sad  ;  every  one  was  thinking  of  the  poor  Danes  and 
their  sad  fate,  while  they  who  had  been  on  the  plain 
had  the  additional  subject  of  the  murdered  man  for 
their  contemplation. 

"  Is  it  possible  to  do  nothing  to  redeem  these  poor 
people,  father,  from  captivity?"  Eve  at  length  de 
manded. 

"  I  have  been  thinking  of  this,  my  child ;  but  I  see 
no  other  method  than  to  acquaint  their  government 
of  their  situation." 

"  Might  we  not  contribute  something  from  our 
own  means  to  that  effect?  Money,  I  fancy,  is  the 
chief  thing  necessary." 

The  gentlemen  looked  at  each  other  in  approba 
tion,  though  a  reluctance  to  be  the  first  to  speak  kept 
most  of  them  silent. 

"  If  a  hundred  pounds,  Miss  Effingham,  will  be 
useful,"  Sir  George  Templemore  said,  after  the  pause 
had  continued  an  awkward  minute,  laying  a  bank 
note  of  that  amount  on  the  table,  "  and  you  will  ho- 
22* 


258  HOMEWARD   BOUND. 

nour  us  by  becoming  the  keeper  of  the  redemption 
money,  I  have  great  pleasure  in  making  the  offer.'* 

This  was  handsomely  said,  and  as  Captain  Truck 
afterwards  declared,  handsomely  done,  too,  though  it 
was  a  little  abrupt,  and  caused  Eve  to  hesitate  and 
redden. 

"  I  shall  accept  your  gift,  sir,"  she  said  ;  "  and  with 
your  permission  will  transfer  it  to  Mr.  Effingharn, 
who  will  better  know  what  use  to  put  it  to,  in  order 
to  effect  our  benevolent  purpose.  I  think  I  can  an 
swer  for  as  much  more  from  himself." 

"  You  may,  with  certainty,  my  dear, — and  twice 
ns  much,  if  necessary.  John,  this'is  a  proper  occa 
sion  for  your  interference." 

"  Put  me  down  at  what  you  please,"  said  John 
Effingham,  whose  charities  in  a  pecuniary  sense  were 
as  unlimited,  as  in  feeling  they  were  apparently  re 
strained.  "One  hundred  or  one  thousand,  to  rescue 
that  poor  crew  !" 

"  1  believe,  sir,  \ve  must  all  follow  so  good  an  ex 
ample,"  Mr.  Sharp  observed  ;  "  and  I  sincerely  hope 
that  this  scheme  will  not  prove  useless.  I  think  it 
may  be  effected  by  means  of  some  of  the  public 
agents  at  Mogadore." 

Mr.  Dodge  raised  many  objections,  for  it  really 
exceeded  his  means  to  give  so  largely,  and  his  cha 
racter  was  formed  in  a  school  too  envious  and  jea 
lous  to  confess  an  inferiority  on  a  point  even  as 
worthless  as  that  of  money.  Indeed,  he  had  so  long 
been  accustomed  to  maintain  that  "  one  man  was  as 
good  as  another,"  in  opposition  to  his  senses,  that, 
like  most  of  those  who  belong  to  this  impracticable 
school,  he  had  tacitly  admitted  in  his  own  mind,  the 
general  and  vulgar  ascendancy  of  mere  wealth;  and, 
quite  as  a  matter  of  course,  he  was  averse  to  con 
fessing  his  own  inferiority  on  a  point  that  he  had 
made  to  be  all  in  all,  while  loudest  in  declaiming 
against  any  inferiority  whatever.  He  walked  out 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  259 

of  the  cabin,  therefore,  with  strong  heart-burnings 
and  jealousies,  because  others  had  presumed  to  give 
that  which  it  was  not  really  in  his  power  to  bestow. 

On  the  other  hand,  both  Mademoiselle  Viefville 
and  Mr.  Monday  manifested  the  superiority  of  the 
opinions  in  which  they  had  been  trained.  The  first 
quietly  handed  a  Napoleon  to  Mr.  Effingham,  who 
took  it  with  as  much  attention  and  politeness  as  he 
received  any  of  the  larger  contributions;  while  the 
latter  produced  a  five-pound  note,  with  a  hearty  good 
will  that  redeemed  the  sin  of  many  a  glass  of  punch 
in  the  eyes  of  his  companions. 

Eve  did  not  dare  to  look  towards  Paul  Blunt,  while 
this  collection  was  making ;  but  she  felt  regret  that 
he  dfd  not  join  in  it.  He  was  silent  and  thoughtful, 
and  even  seemed  pained,  and  she  wondered  if  it  were 
possible  that  one,  who  certainly  lived  in  a  style  to 
prove  that  his  income  was  large,  could  be  so  thought 
less  as  to  have  deprived  himself  of  the  means  of 
doing  that  which  he  so  evidently  desired  to  do.  But 
most  of  the  company  was  too  well-bred  to  permit  the 
matter  to  become  the  subject  of  conversation,  and 
they  soon  rose  from  table  in  a  body.  The  mind  of 
Eve,  however,  was  greatly  relieved  when  her  father 
told  her  that  the  young  man  had  put  a  hundred  so 
vereigns  in  gold  into  his  hands  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  that  he  had  seconded  this  offering  with  another, 
of  embarking  for  Mogadore  in  person,  should  they 
get  into  the  Cape  de  Verdes,  or  the  Canaries,  with  a 
view  of  carrying  out  the  charitable  plan  with  the 
least  delay. 

"  He  is  a  noble-hearted  young  man,"  said  the 
pleased  father,  as  he  communicated  this  fact  to  his 
daughter  and  cousin;  "  and  I  shall  not  object  to  the 
plan." 

"  If  he  offer  to  quit  this  ship  one  minute  sooner 
than  is  necessary,  he  does,  indeed,  deserve  a  statue 
of  gold,"  said  John  Effingham  ;  **  for  it  has  all  that 


260  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

can  attract  a  young  man  like  him,  and  all  too  that 
can  awaken  his  jealousy." 

"  Cousin  Jack !"  exclaimed  Eve  reproachfully, 
quite  thrown  off  her  guard  by  the  abruptness  and 
plainness  of  this  language. 

The  quiet  smile  of  Mr.  Effingham  proved  that  he 
understood  both,  but  he  made  no  remark.  Eve  in- 
stantly  recovered  her  spirits,  and  angry  at  herself  for 
the  girlish  exclamation  that  had  escaped  her,  she 
turned  on  her  assailant.  "  I  do  not  know  that  I 
ought  to  be  seen  in  an  aside  with  Mr.  John  Effing- 
ham,"  she  said,  "even  when  it  is  sanctioned  with  the 
presence  of  my  own  father." 

"  And  may  I  ask  why  so  much  sudden  reserve, 
my  offended  beauty  1" 

"  Merely  that  the  report  is  already  active,  con 
cerning  the  delicate  relation  in  which  we  stand  to 
wards  each  other." 

John  Effingham  looked  surprised,  but  he  suppress 
ed  his  curiosity  from  a  long  habit  of  affecting  an 
indifference  he  did  not  always  feel.  The  father  was 
less  dignified,  for  he  quietly  demanded  an  explana 
tion. 

"  It  would  seem,"  returned  Eve,  assuming  a  so 
lemnity  suited  to  a  matter  of  interest,  "  that  our  se 
cret  is  discovered.  While  we  were  indulging  our 
curiosity  about  this  unfortunate  ship,  Mr.  Dodge  was 
gratifying  the  laudable  industry  of  the  Active  In 
quirer,  by  prying  into  our  state-rooms." 

"This  meanness  is  impossible!"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Effingham. 

"Nay,"  said  John,  "  no  meanness  is  impossible  to 
a  demagogue, — a  pretender  to  things  of  which  he 
has  even  no  just  conception, — a  man  who  lives  to 
envy  and  traduce;  in  a  word,  a  quasi  gentleman. 
Let'us  hear  what  Eve  has  to  say." 

"  My  information  is  from  Ann  Sidley,  who  saw 
him  in  the  act.  Now  the  kind  letter  vou  wrote  mv 


HOMEWARD    BOUND,  261 

father,  Cousin  Jack,  just  before  we  left  London,  and 
which  you  wrote  because  you  would  not  trust  that 
honest  tongue  of  yours  to  speak  the  feelings  of  that 
honest  heart,  is  the  subject  of  my  daily  study ;  not 
on  account  of  its  promises,  you  will  believe  me,  but 
on  account  of  the  strong  affection  it  displays  to  a 

firl  who  is  not  worthy  of  one  half  you  feel  and  do 
>r  her." 

"  Pshaw !" 

"  Well,  let  it  then  be  pshaw  !  I  had  read  that  let 
ter  this  very  morning,  and  carelessly  left  it  on  my 
table.  This  letter  Mr.  Dodge,  in  his  undying  desire 
to  lay  everything  before  the  public,  as  becomes  his 
high  vocation,  arid  as  in  duty  bound,  has  read ;  and 
misconstruing  some  of  the  phrases,  as  will  some 
times  happen  to  a  zealous  circulator  of  news,  he  has 
drawn  the  conclusion  that  I  am  to  be  made  a  happy 
woman  as  soon  as  we  reach  America,  by  being  con 
verted  from  Miss  Eve  Effingham  into  Mrs.  John 
Effingham." 

"  Impossible  !  No  man  can  be  such  a  fool,  or  quite 
so  great  a  miscreant !" 

"  I  should  rather  think,  my  child,"  added  the  mild 
er  father,  "  that  injustice  has  been  done  Mr.  Dodge. 
No  person,  in  the  least  approximating  to  the  station 
of  a  gentleman,  could  even  think  of  an  act  so  base 
as  this  you  mention." 

"  Oh'!  if  this  be  all  your  objection  to  the  tale," 
observed  the  cousin,  "  I  am  ready  to  swear  to  its 
truth.  But  Eve  has  caught  a  little  of  Captain  Truck's 
spirit  of  mystifying,  and  is  determined  to  make  a. 
character  by  a  bold  stroke  in  the  beginning.  She  is 
clever,  and  in  time  may  rise  to  be  a  quiz." 

"  Thank  you  for  the  compliment,  Cousin  Jack, 
which,  however,  I  am  forced  to  disclaim,  as  I  never 
was  more  serious  in  my  life.  That  the  letter  was 
read,  Nanny,  who  is  truth  itself,  affirms  she  saw. 
That  Mr.  Dodge  has  since  been  industriously  circu- 


262  HOMEWARD    BOUiYD. 

Jating  the  report  of  my  great  good  fortune,  she  has 
heard  from  the  mate,  who  had  it  from  the  highest 
source  of  information  direct,  and  that  such  a  man 
would  be  likely  to  come  to  such  a  conclusion,  you 
have  only  to  recall  the  terms  of  the  letter  yourself,  to 
believe." 

"  There  is  nothing  in  my  letter  to  justify  any  no 
tion  so  silly." 

"An  Active  Inquirer  might  make  discoveries  you 
little  dream  of,  dear  Cousin  Jack.  You  speak  of  its 
being  time  to  cease  roving,  of  settling  yourself  at 
last,  of  never  parting,  and,  prodigal  as  you  are,  of 
making  Eve  the  future  mistress  of  your  fortune. 
Now  to  all  this,  recreant,  confess,  or  I  shall  never 
again  put  faith  in  man." 

John  Effingham  made  no  answer,  but  the  father 
warmly  expressed  his  indignation,  that  any  man  of 
the  smallest  pretensions  to  be  admitted  among  gen 
tlemen,  should  be  guilty  of  an  act  so  base. 

"We  can  hardly  tolerate  his  presence,  John,  and 
it  is  almost  a  matter  of  conscience  to  send  him  to 
Coventry." 

"If  you  entertain  such  notions  of  decorum,  your 
wisest  way,  Edward,  will  be  to  return  to  the  place 
whence  you  have  come  ;  for,  trust  me,  you  will  find 
scores  of  such  gentlemen  where  you  are  going  !" 

"  I  shall  not  allow  you  to  persuade  me  I  know  my 
own  country  so  little.  Conduct  like  this  will  stamp 
a  man  with  disgrace  in  America  as  well  as  else 
where." 

"  Conduct  like  this  would,  but  it  will  no  longer. 
The  pell-mell  that  rnges  has  brought  honourable  men 
into  a  sad  minority,  and  even  Mr.  Dodge  will  tell 
you  the  majority  must  rule.  Were  he  to  publish  my 
letter,  a  large  portion  of  his  readers  would  fancy  he 
was  merely  asserting  the  liberty  of  the  press.  Hea 
vens  save  us  !  You  have  been  dreaming  abroad,  Ned 
Effingham,  while  your  country  has  retrograded,  in 


HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

all  that  is  respectable  and  good,  a  century  in  a  dozen 
years  !" 

As  this  was  the  usual  language  of  John  Effingham, 
neither  of  his  listeners  thought  much  of  it,  though 
Mr.  Effingham  more  decidedly  expressed  an  inten 
tion  to  cut  off  even  the  slightest  communication  with 
the  offender,  he  had  permitted  himself  to  keep  up, 
since  they  had  been  on  board. 

"  Think  better  of  it,  dear  father,"  said  Eve  ;  "  for 
such  a  man  is  scarcely  worthy  of  even  your  resent 
ment.  He  is  too  much  your  inferior  in  principles, 
manners,  character,  station,  and  everything  else,  to 
render  him  of  so  much  account ;  and  then,  were  we 
to  clear  up  this  masquerade  into  which  the  chances 
of  a  ship  have  thrown  us,  we  might  have  our  scru 
ples  concerning  others,  as  well  as  concerning  this 
wolf  in  sheep's  clothing." 

"Say  rather  an  ass,  shaved  and  painted  to  resem 
ble  a  zebra,"  muttered  John.  "  The  fellow  has  no 
property  as  respectable  as  the  basest  virtue  of  a 
wolf."  ' 

"  He  has  at  least  rapacily." 

"  And  can  howl  in  a  pack.  This  much,  then,  I 
will  concede  to  you:  but  I  agree  with  Eve,  we  must 
either  punish  him  affirmatively,  by  pulling  his  ears, 
or  treat  him  with  contempt,  which  is  always  nega 
tive  or  silent.  I  wish  he  had  entered  the  state-room 
of  that  fine  young  fellow,  Paul  Blunt,  who  is  of  an 
age  and  a  spirit  to  give  him  a  lesson  that  might 
make  a  paragraph  for  his  Active  Inquirer,  if  not  a 
scissors'  extract  of  himself." 

Eve  knew  that  the  offender  had  been  there  too, 
but  she  had  too  much  prudence  to  betray  him. 

"  This  will  only  so  much  the  more  oblige  him," 
she  said,  laughingly;  "for  Mr.  Blunt,  in  speaking  of 
the  editor  of  the  Active  Inquirer,  said  that  he  had 
the  failing  to  believe  that  this  earth,  and  all  it  con- 


264  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

tained,  was  created  merely  to  furnish  materials  for 
newspaper  paragraphs." 

The  gentlemen  laughed  with  the  amused  Eve,  and 
Mr.  Eflingham  remarked,  that  "  there  did  seem  to  be 
men  so  perfectly  selfish,  so  much  devoted  to  their  own 
interests,  and  so  little  sensible  of  the  rights  and  feel 
ings  of  others,  as  to  manifest  a  desire  to  render  the 
press  superior  to  all  other  power ;  not,"  he  conclud 
ed,  "  in  the  way  of  argument,  or  as  an  agent  of  rea 
son,  but  as  a  master,  coarse,  corrupt,  tyrannical  and 
vile;  the  instrument  of  selfishness,  instead  of  the 
right,  and  when  not  employed  as  the  promoter  of 
persona]  interest,  to  be  employed  as  the  tool  of  per 
sonal  passions." 

"  Your  father  will  become  a  convert  to  my  opi 
nions,  Miss  Effingham,"  said  John,  "  and  he  will  not 
be  home  a  twelvemonth  before  he  will  make  the  dis 
covery  that  the  government  is  a  press-ocracy,  and 
its  ministers,  self-chosen  and  usurpers,  composed  of 
those  who  have  the  least  at  stake,  even  to  charac 
ter." 

Mr.  Effingham  shook  his  head  in  dissent,  but  the 
conversation  changed  in  consequence  of  a  stir  in  the 
ship.  The  air  from  the  land  had  freshened,  and  even 
the  heavy  canvass  on  which  the  Montauk  was  now 
compelled  principally  to  rely,  had  been  asleep,  as 
mariners  term  it,  or  had  blown  out  from  the  mast, 
where  it  stood  inflated  and  steady,  a  proof  at  sea, 
where  the  water  is  always  in  motion,  that  the  breeze 
is  getting  to  be  fresh.  Aided  by  this  power,  the  ship 
had  overcome  the  united  action'of  the  heavy  ground- 
swell  and  of  the  current,  and  was  stealing"  out  from 
under  the  land,  when  the  air  murmured  for  an  in 
stant,  as  if  about  to  blow  still  fresher,  and  then  all 
the  sails  flapped.  The  wind  had  passed  away  like  a 
bird,  and  a  dark  line  to  seaward,  denoted  the  approach 
of  the  breeze  from  the  ocean.  The  stir  in  the  vessel 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  265 

was  occasioned  by  the  preparations  to  meet  this 
change. 

The  new  wind  brought  little  with  it  beyond  the 
general  danger  of  blowing  on  shore.  The  breeze 
was  light,  and  not  more  than  sufficient  to  force  the 
vessel  through  the  water,  in  her  present  condition,  a 
mile  and  a  half  in  the  hour,  and  this  too  in  a  line 
nearly  parallel  with  the  coast.  Captain  Truck  saw 
therefore  at  a  glance,  that  he  should  be  compelled  to 
anchor.  Previously,  however,  to  doing  this,  he  had 
a  long  talk  with  his  mates,  and  a  boat  was  lowered. 

The  lead  was  cast,  and  the  bottom  was  found  to 
be  still  good,  though  a  hard  sand,  which  is  not  the 
best  holding  ground. 

*'  A  heavy  sea  would  cause  the  ship  to  drag,"  Cap 
tain  Truck  remarked,  "should  it  come  onto  blow, 
and  the  lines  of  dark  rocks  astern  of  them  would 
make  chips  of  the  Pennsylvania  in  an  hour,  were  that 
great  ship  to  lie  on  it." 

He  entered  the  boat,  and  pulled  along  the  reefs  to 
examine  an  inlet  that  Mr.  Leach  reported  to  have 
been  seen,  before  he  got  the  ship's  head  to  the  north 
ward.  Could  an  entrance  be  found  at  this  point,  the 
vessel  might  possibly  be  carried  within  the  reef,  and 
a  favourite  scheme  of  the  captain's  could  be  put  in 
force,  one  to  which  he  now  attached  the  highest  im 
portance.  A  mile  brought  the  boat  up  to  the  inlet, 
where  Mr.  Truck  found  the  following  appearances. 
The  general  formation  of  the  coast  in  sight  was  that, 
of  a  slight  curvature,  within  which  the  ship  had  so  far 
drifted  as  to  be  materially  within  a  line  drawn  from 
headland  to  headland.  There  was,  consequently, 
little  hope  of  urging  a  vessel,  crippled  like  the  Mon- 
tauk,  against  wind,  sea  and  current,  out  again  into 
the  ocean.  For  about  a  league  abreast  of  the  ship 
the  coast  was  rocky,  though  low,  the  rocks  running 
off  from  the  shore  quite  a  mile  in  places,  and  every 
where  fully  half  that  distance.  The  formation  was 
irregular/ but  it  had  the  general  character  of  a  reef 

VOL.  i.  23 


2GG  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

the  position  of  which  was  marked  by  breakers,  as 
well  as  by  the  black  heads  of  rocks  that  here  and 
there  showed  themselves  above  the  water.  The  inlet 
was  narrow,  crooked,  and  so  far  environed  by  rocks 
as  to  render  it  questionable  whether  there  was  a  pas 
sage  at  all,  though  the  smoothness  of  the  water  had 
raised  hopes  to  that  effect  in  Mr.  Leach. 

As  soon  as  Captain  Truck  arrived  at  the  mouth  of 
this  passage,  he  felt  so  much  encouraged  by  the  ap 
pearances  of  things  that  he  gave  the  concerted  signal 
for  the  ship  to  veer  round  and  to  stand  to  the  south 
ward.  This  was  losing  ground  in  the  way  of  offing, 
but  tack  the  Montnuk  could  not  writh  so  little  wind, 
even  if  she  could  now  tack  with  any  wind,  and  the 
captain  saw  by  the  drift  she  had  made  since  he  left 
her,  that  promptitude  was  necessary.  The  ship  might, 
anchor  off  the  inlet,  as  well  as  anywhere  else,  if  re 
duced  to  anchoring  outside  at  all,  and  then  there  was 
always  the  chance  of  entering. 

As  soon  as  the  ship's  head  wras  again  to  the  south 
ward,  and  Captain  Truck  felt  certain  that  she  was 
lying  along  the  reef  at  a  reasonable  safe  distance, 
and  in  as  good  a  direction  as  he  could  hope  for,  he 
commenced  his  examination.  Like  a  discreet  seaman 
he  pulled  off  from  the  rocks  to  a  suitable  distance,  for 
should  an  obstacle  occur  outside,  he  well  knew  any 
depth  of  water  further  in  would  be  useless.  The  day 
was  so  fine,  and  in  the  absence  <Jf  rivers,  the  ocean 
so  limpid  in  that  low  latitude,  that  it  was  easy  to  see 
the  bottom  at  a  considerable  dept'h.  But  to  this 
sense,  of  course,  the  captain  did  not  trust,  for  he  kept 
the  lead  going  constantly,  although  all  eyes  were 
also  employed  in  searching  for  rocks. 

The  first  cast  of  the  lead  was  in  five  fathom?,  and 
these  soundings  were  held  nearly  up  to  the  inlet, 
where  the  lead  struck  a  rock  in  three  fathoms  and  a 
half.  At  this  point,  then,  a  more  careful  examination 
was  made,  but  three  and  a  half  was  the  shallowest 
cast.  As  the  Montauk  drew  nearly  a  fathom  less 
than  this,  the  cautious  old  master  proceeded  closer 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  267 

in.  Directly  in  the  mouth  of  the  inlet  was  a  large 
flat  rock,  that  rose  nearly  to  the  surface  of  the  sea, 
and  which,  when  the  tide  was  low,  was  probably 
bare.  This  rock  Captain  Truck  at  first  believed 
would  defeat  his  hopes  of  success,  which  by  this 
time  were  strong;  but  a  closer  examination  showed 
him  that  on  one  side  of  it  was  a  narrow  passage,  just 
wide  enough  to  admit  a  ship. 

From  this  spot  the  channel  became  crooked,  but. 
it  was  sufficiently  marked  by  the  ripple  on  the  reef; 
and  after  a  careful  investigation,  he  found  it  was 
possible  to  carry  three  fathoms  quite  within  the  reef, 
where  a  large  space  existed  that  was  gradually  filling 
up  with  sand,  but  which  was  nearly  all  covered  with 
water  when  the  tide  was  in  as  was  now  the  case,  and 
which  had  channels,  as  usual,  between  the  banks. 
Following  one  of  these  channels  a  quarter  of  a  mile, 
he  found  a  basin  of  four  fathoms  of  water,  large 
enough  to  take  a  ship  in,  and,  fortunately,  it  was  in 
close  proximity  to  a  portion  of  the  reef  that  was 
nearly  always  bare,  when  a  heavy  sea  was  not 
beating  over  it.  Here  he  dropped  a  buoy,  for  he  had 
come  provided  with  several  fragments  of  spars  for 
this  purpose;  and,  on  his  return,  the  channel  was 
similarly  marked  ofT,  at  all  the  critical  points.  On 
the  flat  rock,  in  the  inlet,  one  of  the  men  was  left, 
standing'up  to  his  waist  in  the  water,  it  being  certain 
that  the  tide  was  falling. 

The  boat  now  returned  to  the  ship,  which  it  met 
at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the  inlet.  The 
current  setting  southwardly,  her  progress  had  been 
more  rapid  than  when  heading  north,  and  her  drift 
had  been  less  towards  the  land.  Still  there  was  so 
little  wind,  so  steady  a  ground-swell,  and  it  was  pos 
sible  to  carry  so  little  after-sail,  that  great  doubts 
were  entertained  of  being  able  to  weather  the  rocks 
sufficiently  to  turn  into  the  inlet.  Twenty  times  in 
the  next  half  hour  was  the  order  to  let  go  the  anchor, 
on  the  point  of  being  given,  as  the  wind  baffled,  and 
as  often  was  it  counter  manded,  to  take  advantage  of 


268  HOMEWARD    BOUND, 

its  reviving.  These  were  feverish  moments,  for  the 
ship  was  now  so  neer  the  reef  as  to  render  her  situa 
tion  very  insecure  in  the  event  of  the  wind's  rising, 
or  of  a  sea's  getting  up,  as  the  sand  of  the  bottom 
was  too  hard  to  make  good  holding-ground.  Still,  as 
there  was  a  possibility,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
weather,  of  kedging  the  ship  off  a  mile  into  the  offing, 
if  necessary,  Captain  Truck  stood  on  with  a  boldness 
he  might  not  otherwise  have  felt.  The  anchor  hung 
suspended  by  a  single  turn  of  the  stopper,  ready  to 
drop  at  a  signal,  and  Mr.  Truck  stood  between  the 
knight-heads,  watching  the  slow  progress  of  the 
vessel,  and  accurately  noticing  every  foot  of  leeward 
set  she  made,  as  compared  with  the  rocks. 

All  this  time  the  poor  fellow  stood  in  the  water, 
awaiting  the  arrival  of  his  friends,  who,  in  their  turn, 
were  anxiously  watching  his  features,  as  they  gradu 
ally  grew  more  distinct. 

"  I  see  his  eyes,"  cried  the  captain  cheerily;  "take 
a  drag  at  the  bowlines,  and  let  her  head  up  as  much 
as  she  will,  Mr.  Leach,  and  never  mind  those  sham 
topsails.  Take  them  in  at  once,  sir;  they  do  us,  now, 
more  harm  than  good." 

The  clewline  blocks  rattled,  and  the  top-gallant 
sails,  which  were  made  to  do  the  duty  of  top-sails, 
but  which  would  hardly  spread  to  the  lower  yards, 
so  as  to  set  on  a  wind,  came  rapidly  in.  Five 
minutes  of  intense  doubt  followed,  when  the  captain 
gave  the  animating  order  to — 

"  Man  the  main-clew  garnets,  boys,  arid  stand  by 
to  make  a  run  of  it!" 

This  was  understood  to  be  a  sign  that  the  ship  was 
far  enough  to  windward,  and  the  command  to  "  in 
main-sail,"  which  soon  succeeded,  was  received  with 
a  shout. 

"  Hard  up  with  the  helm,  and  stand  by  to  lay  the 
fore-yard  square,"  cried  Captain  Truck,  rubbing  his 
hands.  "Look  that  both  bowers  are  clear  for  a  run; 
and  you,  Toast,  bring  me  the  brightest  coal  in  the 
galley." 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  269 

The  movements  of  the  Montauk  were  necessarily 
slow ;  but  she  obeyed  her  helm,  and  fell  off  until  her 
bows  pointed  in  towards  the  sailor  in  the  water. 
This  fine  fellow,  the  moment  he  saw  the  ship  ap 
proaching,  waded  to  the  verge  of  the  rock,  where  it 
went  off  perpendicularly  to  the  bottom,  and  waved  to 
them  to  come  on  without  fear. 

"  Come  within  ten  feet  of  me,"  he  shouted.  "  There 
is  nothing  to  spare  on  the  other  side." 

As  the  captain  was  prepared  for  this,  the  ship  was 
steered  accordingly,  and  as  she  hove  slowly  past  on 
the  rising  and  falling  water,  a  rope  was  thrown  to 
the  man,  who  was  hauled  on  board. 

"  Port!"  cried  the  captain,  as  soon  as  the  rock  was 
passed;  "port  your  helm,  sir,  and  stand  for  the  first 
buoy." 

In  this  manner  the  Montauk  drove  slowly  but 
steadily  on,  until  she  had  reached  the  basin,  where 
one  anchor  was  let  go  almost  as  soon  as  she  entered. 
The  chain  was  paid  out  until  the  vessel  was  forced 
over  to  some  distance,  and  then  the  other  bower  was 
dropped.  The  fore-sail  was  hauled  up  and  handed, 
and  chain  was  given  the  ship,  which  was  pronounced 
to  be  securely  moored. 

"  Now,"  cried  the  captain,  all  his  anxiety  ceasing 
with  the  responsibility,  "I  expect  to  be  made  a  mem 
ber  of  the  New  York  Philosophical  Society  at  least, 
which  is  learned  company  for  a  man  who  has  never 
been  at  college,  for  discovering  a  port  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  which  harbour,  ladies  a.nd  gentlemen,  without 
too  much  vanity,  I  hope  to  be  permitted  to  call  Port 
Truck.  If  Mr.  Dodge,  however,  should  think  this 
too  anti-republican,  we  will  compromise  the  matter 
by  calling  it  Port  Truck  and  Dodge;  or  the  town, 
that  no  doubt  will  sooner  or  later  arise  on  its  banks, 
may  be  called  Dodgeborough,  and  I  will  keep  the 
harbour  to  myself." 

"  Should  Mr.  Dodge  consent  to  this  arrangement, 
he  will  render  himself  liable  to  the  charge  of  aristo- 
23* 


270  HOMEWARD    13OUND. 

cracy,"  said  Mr.  Sharp;  for  as  all  felt  relieved  by 
rinding  themselves  in  a  place  of  security,  so  all  felt 
disposed  to  join  in  the  pleasantry.  "  I  dare  say  his 
modesty  would  prevent  his  consenting  to  the  plan." 

"  Why,  gentlemen,"  returned  the  subject  of  these 
remarks,  "  I  do  not  know  that  we  are  to  refuse 
honours  that  are  fairly  imposed  on  us  by  the  popular 
voice;  and  the  practice  of  naming  towns  and  counties 
after  distinguished  citizens,  is  by  no  means  uncommon 
with  us.  A  few  of  my  own  neighbours  have  been 
disposed  to  honour  me  in  this  way  already,  and  my 
paper  is  issued  from  a  hamlet  that  certainly  does 
bear  my  own  unworthy  name.  So,  you  perceive, 
there  will  be  no  novelty  in  the  appellation." 

"  I  would  have  made  oath  to  it,"  cried  the  captain, 
"  from  your  well-established  humility.  Is  the  place 
as  large  as  London?" 

"  It  can  boast  of  little  more  than  my  own  office,  a 
tavern,  a  store,  and  a  blacksmith's  shop,  captain,  as 
yet;  but  Rome  was  not  built  in  a  day." 

"Your  neighbours,  sir,  must  be  people  of  extraor 
dinary  discernment;  but  the  name?" 

"That  is  not  absolutely  decided.  At  first  it  was 
called  Dodgetown,  but  this  did  not  last  long,  being 
thought  vulgar  and  common-place.  Six  or  eight 
weeks  afterwards,  we — " 

"We,  Mr.  Dodge!" 

"  I  mean  the  people,  sir, — I  am  so  much  accus 
tomed  to  connect  myself  with  the  people,  that  what 
ever  they  do,  I  think  I  had  a  hand  in." 

"  And  very  properly,  sir,"  observed  John  Effing- 
ham,  "  as  probably  without  yon,  there  would  have 
been  no  people  at  all." 

"  What  may  be  the  population  of  Dodgetown, 
sir?"  asked  the  persevering  captain,  on  this  hint. 

"  At  the  census  of  January,  it  was  seventeen;  but 
by  the  census  of  March,  there  were  eighteen.  1 
have  made  a  calculation  that  shows,  if  we  go  on  at 
this  rate,  or  by  arithmetical  progression,  it  will  be  a 
hundred  in  about  ten  years,  which  will  be  a  very 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  271 

respectable  population  for  a  country-place.  I  beg 
pardon,  sir,  the  people,  six  or  eight  weeks  afterwards, 
altered  the  name  to  Dodge-borough;  but  a  new 
family  coming  in  that  summer,  a  party  was  got  up  to 
change  it  to  Dodge-ville,  a  name  that  was  immensely 
popular,  as  ville  means  city  in  Latin;  but  it  must  be 
owned  the  people  like  change,  or  rotation  in  names, 
as  well  as  in  office,  and  they  called  the  place  Butter- 
field  Hollow,  for  a  whole  month,  after  the  new  in 
habitant,  whose  name  is  Butterfield.  He  moved 
away  in  the  fall;  and  so,  after  trying  Belindy, 
(Anglice  Belinda,)  Nineveh,  Grand  Cairo,  and  Pump 
kin  Valley,  they  made  me  the  oiler  to  restore  the 
ancient  name,  provided  some  addendum  more  noble 
and  proper  could  be  found  than  town,  or  ville,  or 
borough;  it  is  not  yet  determined  what  it  shall  be, 
but  I  believe  we  shall  finally  settle  down  in  Dodge- 
ople,  or  Dodgeopolis." 

"For  the  season;  and  a  very  good  name  it  will 
prove  for  a  short  cruise,  1  make  no  question.  The 
Butterfield  Hollow  was  a  little  like  rotation  in  office, 
in  truth,  sir." 

"  I  didn't  like  it,  captain,  so. I  gave  Squire  Butter- 
field  to  understand,  privately;  for  as  he  had  a  ma 
jority  with  him,  I  didn't  approve  of  speaking  too 
strongly  on  the  subject.  As  soon  as  I  got  him  out  of 
the  tavern,  however,  the  current  set  the  other  way." 

"  You  fairly  uncorked  him  !" 

"  That  I  did,  and  no  one  ever  heard  of  him,  or  of 
his  hollow,  after  his  retreat.  There  are  a  few  dis 
contented  and  arrogant  innovators,  who  affect  to  call 
the  place  by  its  old  name  of  Morton;  but  these  are 
the  mere  vassals  of  a  man  who  once  owned  the 
patent,  and  who  has  now  been  dead  these  forty 
years.  We  are  not  the  people  to  keep  his  old  musty 
name,  or  to  honour  dry  bones." 

"Served  him  right,  sir,  and  like  men  of  spirit!  If 
he  wants  a  place  called  after  himself,  let  him  live, 
like  other  people.  A  dead  man  has  no  occasion  for 
a  name,  and  there  should  be  a  law  passed,  that  when 


272  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

a  man  slips  his  cables,  he  should  bequeath  his  name 
to  some  honest  fellow  who  has  a  worse  one.  It 
might  be  well  to  compel  all  great  men  in  particular, 
to  leave  their  renown  to  those  who  cannot  get  any 
for  themselves." 

"  I  will  venture  to  suggest  an  improvement  on  the 
name,  if  Mr.  Dodge  will  permit  me,"  said  Mr.  Sharp, 
who  had  been  an  amused  listener  to  the  short  dia 
logue.  "Dodgeople  is  a  little  short,  and  may  be 
offensive  by  its  bnisquerie.  By  inserting  a  single 
letter,  it  will  become  Dodge-people;  or,  there  is  the 
alternative  of  Dodge-adrianople,  which  will  be  a  truly 
sonorous  and  republican  title.  Adrian  was  an  em 
peror,  and  even  Mr.  Dodge  might  not  disdain  the 
conjunction." 

By  this  time,  the  editor  of  the  Active  Inquirer 
began  to  be  extremely  elevated — for  this  was  assail 
ing  him  on  his  weakest  side — and  he  laughed  and 
rubbed  his  hands  as  if  he  thought  the  joke  particularly 
pleasant.  This  person  had  also  a  peculiarity  of  judg 
ment  that  was  singularly  in  opposition  to  all  his  open 
professions,  a  peculiarity,  however,  that  belongs 
rather  to  his  class  than  to  the  individual  member  of 
it.  Ultra  as  a  democrat  and  an  American,  Mr. 
Dodge  had  a  sneaking  predilection  in  favour  of 
foreign  opinions.  Although  practice  had  made  him 
intimately  acquainted  with  all  the  frauds,  deceptions, 
and  vileness  of  the  ordinary  arts  of  paragraph-ma 
king,  he  never  failed  to  believe  religiously  in  the 
veracity,  judgment,  good  faith,  honesty  and  talents  of 
anything  that  was  imported  in  the  form  of  types. 
He  had  been  weekly,  for  years,  accusing  his  nearest 
brother  of  the  craft,  of  lying,  and  he  could  not  be 
altogether  ignorant  of  his  own  propensity  in  the  same 
way;  but,  notwithstanding  all  this  experience  in  the 
secrets  of  the  trade,  whatever  reached  him  from  a 
European  journal,  he  implicitly  swallowed  whole. 
One,  who  knew  little  of  the  man,  might  have  supposed 
he  feigned  credulity  to  answer  his  own  purposes;  but 
this  would  be  doing  injustice  to  his  faith,  which  was 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  273 

perfect,  being  based  on  that  provincial  admiration, 
and  provincial  ignorance,  that  caused  the  country 
man,  who  went  to  London  for  the  first  time,  to  ex 
press  his  astonishment  at  finding  the  king  a  man. 
As  was  due  to  his  colonial  origin,  his  secret  awe  and 
reverence  for  an  Englishman  was  exactly  in  propor 
tion  to  his  protestations  of  love  for  the  people,  and 
his  deference  for  rank  was  graduated  on  a  scale 
suited  to  the  heart  burning  and  jealousies  he  enter 
tained  for  all  whom  he  felt  to  be  his  superiors.  In 
deed,  one  was  the  cause  of  the  other;  for  they  who 
really  are  indifferent  to  their  own  social  position,  are 
usually  equally  indifferent  to  that  of  others,  so  long  as 
they  are  not  made  to  feel  the  difference  by  direct 
assumptions  of  superiority. 

When  Mr.  Sharp,  whom  even  Mr.  Dodge  had  dis 
covered  to  be  a  gentleman, — and  an  English  gentle 
man  of  course, — entered  into  the  trifling  of  the 
moment,  therefore,  so  far  from  detecting  the  mysti 
fication,  the  latter  was  disposed  to  believe  himself  a 
subject  of  interest  with  this  person,  against  whose 
exclusiveness  and  haughty  reserve,  notwithstanding, 
he  had  been  making  side-hits  ever  since  the  ship  had 
sailed.  But  the  avidity  with  which  the  Americans  of 
Mr.  Dodge's  temperament  are  apt  to  swallow  the 
crumbs  of  flattery  that  fall  from  the  Englishman's 
table,  is  matter  of  history,  and  the  editor  himself  was 
never  so  happy  as  when  he  could  lay  hold  of  a  para 
graph  to  republish,  in  which  a  few  words  of  comfort 
were  doled  out  by  the  condescending  mother  to  the 
never-dying  faith  of  the  daughter.  So  far,  there 
fore,  from  taking  umbrage  at  what  had  been  said, 
he  continued  the  subject  long  after  the  captain  had 
gone  to  his  duty,  and  with  so  much  perseverance 
that  Paul  Blunt, 'as  soon  as  Mr.  Sharp  escaped,  took 
an  occasion  to  compliment  that  gentleman  on  his 
growing  intimacy  with  the  refined  and  single-minded 
champion  of  the  people.  The  other  admitted  his  in 
discretion;  and  if  the  affair  had  no  other  consequen 
ces,  it  afforded  these  two  fine  young  men  a  moment's 


274  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

merriment,  at  a  time  when  anxiety  had  been  fast 
getting  the  ascendancy  over  all  their  more  cheerful 
feelings.  When  they  endeavoured  to  make  Miss 
Effingham  share  in  'the  amusement,  however,  that 
young  lady  heard  them  with  gravity;  for  the  mean 
ness  of  the  act  discovered  by  Nanny  Sidley,  had  in 
disposed  her  to  treat  the  subject  of  their  comments 
with  the  familiarity  of  even  ridicule.  Perceiving 
this,  though  unable  to  account  for  it,  the  gentlemen 
changed  the  discourse,  and  all  soon  became  suffi 
ciently  grave  by  contemplating  their  own  condition. 

The  situation  of  the  Montauk  was  now  certainly 
one  to  excite  uneasiness  in  those  who  were  little 
acquainted  with  the  sea,  as  well  as  in  those  who 
were.  It  was  very  much  like  that  for  which  Miss 
Effingham's  nurse  had  pined,  having  many  rocks  and 
sands  in  sight,  with  the  land  at  no  great  distance. 
In  order  that  the  reader  may  understand  it  more 
clearly,  we  shall  describe  it  with  greater  minuteness. 

To  the  westward  of  the  ship  lay  the  ocean,  broad, 
smooth,  glittering,  but,  heaving  and  setting,  with  its 
eternal  breathings,  which  always  resemble  the  respi 
ration  of  some  huge  monster.  Between  the  vessel 
and  this  waste  of  water,  and  within  three  hundred 
feet  of  the  first,  stretched  an  irregular  line  of  ripple, 
dotted  here  and  there  with  the  heads  of  low  naked 
rocks,  marking  the  presence  and  direction  of  the 
reef.  This  was  all  that  would  interpose  between  the 
basin  and  the  raging  billows,  should  another  storm 
occur;  but  Captain  Truck  thought  this  would  suffice 
so  far  to  break  the  waves  as  to  render  the  anchorage 
sufficiently  secure.  Astern  of  the. ship,  however,  a 
rounded  ridge  of  sand  began  to  appear  as  the  tide 
fell,  within  forty  fathoms  of  the  vessel,  and  as  the 
bottom  was  hard,  and  difficult  to  get  an  anchor  into 
it,  there  was  the  risk  of  dragging  on  this  bank.  We 
say  that  the  bottom  was  hard,  for  the  reader  should 
know  that  it  is  not  the  weight  of  the  anchor  that 
secures  the  ship,  but  the  hold  its  pointed  fluke  and 
broad  palm  get  of  the  ground.  The  coast  itself  was 


HOMEWARD    BOUND.  275 

distant  less  than  a  mile,  and  the  entire  basin  within 
the  reef  was  fast  presenting  spits  of  sand,  as  the  water 
fell  on  the  ebb.  Still  there  were  many  channels,  and 
it  would  have  been  possible,  for  one  who  knewr  their 
windings,  to  have  sailed  a  ship  several  leagues  among 
them,  without  passing  the  inlet;  these  channels  form 
ing  a  sort  of  intricate  net-work,  in  every  direction 
from  the  vessel. 

When  Captain  Truck  had  coolly  studied  all  the 
peculiarities  of  his  position,  lie  set  about  the  duty  of 
securing  his  ship,  in  good  earnest.  The  two  light 
boats  were  brought  under  the  bows,  and  the  stream 
anchor  was  lowered,  and  fastened  to  a  spar  that  lay 
across  both.  This  anchor  was  carried  to  the  bank 
astern,  and,  by  dint  of  sheer  strength,  it  was  laid 
over  its  summit  with  a  fluke  buried  to  the  shank  in 
the  hard  sand.  By  means  of  a  hawser,  and  a  pur 
chase  applied  to  its  end,  the  men  on  the  banks  next 
roused  the  chain  out,  and  shackled  it  to  the  ring. 
The  bight  was  hove-in,  and  the  ship  secured  astern, 
so  as  to  prevent  a  shift  of  wind,  off  the  land  from 
forcing  her  on  the  reef.  As  no  sea  could  come  from 
this  quarter,  the  single  anchor  and  chain  were  deemed 
sufficient  for  this  purpose.  As  soon  as  the  boats  were 
at  liberty,  and  before  the  chain  had  been  got  ashore, 
two  kedges  were  carried  to  the  reef,  and  lajd  among 
the  rocks,  in  such  a  way  that  their  flukes  and  stocks 
equally  got  hold  of  the  projections.  To  these  kedges 
lighter  chains  were  secured;  and  when  all  the  bights 
were  hove-in,  to  as  equal  a  strain  as  possible,  Captain 
Truck  pronounced  his  ship  in  readiness  to  ride  out 
any  gale  that  would  be  likely  to  blow.  So  far  as  the 
winds  and  waves  might  affect  her,  the  Montauk  was, 
in  truth,  reasonably  safe:  for  on  the  side  where  dan 
ger  was  most  to  be  apprehended,  she  had  two  bowers 
down,  and  four  parts  of  smaller  chain  were  attached 
to  the  two  kedges.  Nor  had  Captain  Truck  fallen 
into  the  common  error  of  supposing  he  had  so  much 
additional  strength  in  his  fastenings,  by  simply  run 
ning  the  chains  through  the  rings,  but  he  had  caused 


276  HOMEWARD    BOUND. 

each  to  be  separately  fastened,  both  in-board  and  to 
the  kedges,  by  which  means  each  length  of  the  chain 
formed  a  distinct  and  independent  fastening  of  itself. 

So  absolute  is  the  sovereignty  of  a  ship,  that  no  one 
had  presumed  to  question  the  master  as  to  his  motives 
for  all  this  extraordinary  precaution,  though  it  wras 
the  common  impression  that  he  intended  to  remain 
where  they  were  until  the  wind  became  favourable, 
or  at  least,  until  all  danger  of  being  thrown  upon  the 
coast,  from  the  currents  and  the  ground-swell,  should 
have  ceased.  Paul  Blunt  observed,  that  he  fancied 
it  was  the  intention  to  take  advantage  of  the  smooth 
water  within  the  reef,  to  get  up  a  better  and  a  more 
efficient  set  of  jury-masts.  But  Captain  Truck  soon 
removed  all  doubts  by  letting  the  truth  be  known. 
While  on  board  the  Danish  wreck,  he  had  critically 
examined  her  spars,  sails,  and  rigging,  and,  though 
adapted  for  a  ship  two  hundred  tons  smaller  than  the 
Montauk,  he  was  of  opinion  they  might  be  fitted  to 
the  latter  vessel,  and  made  to  answer  all  the  neces 
sary  purposes  for  crossing  the  ocean,  provided  the 
Mussulmans  and  the  weather  would  permit  the 
transfer. 

"  We  have  smooth  water  and  light  airs,"  he  said, 
when  concluding  his  explanation,  "and  the  current 
sets  southwardly  along  this  coast;  by  means  of  all 
our  force,  hard  working,  a  kind  Providence,  and  our 
own  enterprise,  I  hope  yet  to  see  the  Montauk  enter 
the  port  of  New  York,  with  royals  set,  and  ready  to 
carry  sail  on  a  wind.  The  seaman  who  cannot  rig 
his  ship  with  sticks  and  ropes  and  blocks  enough, 
might  as  well  stay  ashore,  Mr.  Dodge,  and  publish 
an  hebdomadal.  And  so,  my  dear  young  lady,  by 
looking  along  the  land,  the  day  after  to-morrow,  in 
the  northern  board  here,  you  may  expect  to  see  a  raft 
booming  do\vn  upon  you  that  will  cheer  your  heart, 
and  once  more  raise  the  hope  of  a  Christmas  dinner 
in  New  York,  in  all  lovers  of  good  fare." 

ENTD  or  VOL.  i. 


v 


